And Then It Rained . . .: And Then the Sun Came Out...

People are happy when it starts to rain in the city after a dry spell. A little boy and his father enjoy the rain while cozy and dry at a cafe, and several people are shown doing "indoor things". After several days of rain, the complaints begin and everyone is sick of the wet weather. When the little boy asks his dad when the rain will stop, he gets a rhyme in reply to the effect that he'll get his weather wish soon.The reader is told to turn the book around to find out what happens. When you turn it around and start reading from the back, you find that the sun has come out. The little boy and his father walk happily down the sunny street to enjoy ice cream at the cafe, and the same people who previously enjoyed their indoor activities are now enjoying getting out and about. Human nature being what it is, everyone is soon complaining about the heat. When the little boy asks his father when it will stop being so hot, he is given the rhyme again and told his weather wish will come true soon. The reader is again instructed to turn the book over to find out what happens and the story begins all over again with the opening words about the rain coming to the city.My five-year-old absolutely loved this book and asked for it night after night until I had to return it to the library.

Weather or not, life in a city goes on. And not only life, but lives: this delightful, joyful book follows six very different neighbors in an apartment building, plus a father and son, and several other folks in the neighborhood (a waiter, a baker, a businesswoman)as they go through the pleasures and irritations of a prolonged period of rain, and then (turn the book over) sun. Funny and charming, the book is illustrated perfectly. Wonderfully colorful pictures and unusal perspectives capture perfectly the magical, changing pulses and moods of an active city's residents. The book, though, is not only about weather in a city --- it's about human nature, too. Teachers, as well as parents, will love this book both on its on account and for the questions it can elicit: how do different kinds of weather affect the way you feel? What do you like to do when it rains or when it's sunny? How hot is too hot? What would your "weather wish" be? What do different kinds of weather mean in the city as opposed to the country? And, P.S. : it is gently multi-cultural; the skin colors, family names, religions etc, are as full-spectrum as real life.

This book is really fun and unusual to read especially because half way through the book, it has to be turned upside down to finish reading it! The illustrations are beautiful, vibrant and full of life. The story is poetic and funny at the same time. Highly recommended!