family relationships

Title: Hello, Rain!

Author: Katherine Pryor

Illustrator: Rose Soini

Publisher/Year: Schiffer Kids/2024

Format: Board Book

It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a board book here on Frog on a Blog. But board books are essentially picture books, just in a different format. They’re for the littlest book aficionados, infants to about three years old. Thanks to their extra-sturdy covers, board books hold up well in the hands and mouths of these future readers.

Today, I’m pleased to share, on a rainy Wednesday here at home, Hello, Rain! by Katherine Pryor, with illustrations by Rose Soini. Hello, Rain! was published by Schiffer Kids in 2024. It’s the second in the “Hello,” series, following Hello, Garden!, by the same author and illustrator, which received the IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Association) Benjamin Franklin Gold Award in 2022 for its age category.

Both books feature the same diverse family. And, as you can see from the covers, the kids are the stars. In Hello, Rain!, readers follow the family as they set off to play in the rain. The children enjoy splashing in puddles and drawing in mud until a thunderstorm drives them all back to the safety and comfort of home where a family story time, followed by a bubble-filled bath, proves to be the perfect way to end the day.

copyright © 2024 by Katherine Pryor and Rose Soini

The rhyming, rhythmic text adeptly uses short sentences and simple noun/verb pairs to create mood and movement throughout the story. The colorful illustrations, which I believe are watercolor, depict sweet kids and lots of outdoor scenes, including birds, squirrels, trees, and plants. Parents will have fun pointing out a sleeping mouse, baby robins, and curious worms. What I like most about this book is just the pure joy the kids express while playing outside in nature.

Hello, Rain! is a great choice for the little book and nature lovers in your life!

On average, American Robins lay 3-4 eggs in a clutch but only 1 egg per day. They also typically lay more than 1 clutch of eggs throughout the nesting season.

Title: I Love You Mucho Mucho

Author: Rachel Más Davidson

Illustrator: Rachel Más Davidson

Publisher/Year: Beaming Books/2023

Favorite Line from the Book: Fortunately, stomachs growl in the same language, and Abuela knew just what to do.

Happy National Grandparents Day to all the grandmothers and grandfathers out there who share their hearts, stories, wisdom, and homes with their families! Did you know, according to AARP in 2017, the United States is in the midst of a “grandparent boom” with more grandparents than ever before, over 70 million, as the baby boomers, followed closely by Gen X, become grandmas and grandpas. That’s a lot of grandparents! And, according to Census.gov in 2021, over 6 million grandparents lived with grandchildren under the age of 18, and over 2 million of them were responsible for the basic care of their grandchildren. With numbers like those, it’s no wonder that grandparents play such an important role in our lives.

I was fortunate to have both of my grandmothers living with us when I was growing up. I’ll always remember the two of them sitting side by side in the living room, one in a rocking chair and the other with a cat in her lap, watching soap operas. My dad’s mom was a whiz at crocheting. I’ll never forget the countless pairs of colorful mittens we wore each winter. And I still have two of her afghans. My mom’s mom was a writer and self-taught poet who was published numerous times in various magazines and newspapers. I dedicated my first picture book to her.

A bond between a child and a grandparent is like nothing else, and that’s why I’ve chosen to highlight a picture book on Frog on a Blog today that features that very special grandchild/grandparent connection. I Love You Mucho Mucho, written and illustrated by Rachel Más Davidson and just published by Beaming Books, is a super sweet story about a little girl named Rosie who visits her grandmother, but her grandmother doesn’t speak English, and Rosie doesn’t speak Spanish. Rosie and Abuela spend time together, eating, drawing, playing dress up, gardening, and exploring nature, and, through the universal language of love, they find a way to communicate with very few words.

Just like Rosie and Abuela, spending time together is an important way to strengthen family bonds, create fond memories, and establish a foundation of love, something that every child benefits from and deserves (grandparents too). One activity that grandparents and grandchildren can do together is read picture books, and I Love You Mucho Mucho is a great choice!

Delightfully detailed illustrations (check out Abuela’s high top sneakers) with subtle but interesting background images and an adorable little black cat adorn this deceptively simple tale inspired by the author’s own experience in a family with language barriers. A glossary of Spanish words is included at the end.