Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
11th out of 111 books
—
38 voters
Come On, Rain!
"Come on, Rain!" Tess pleads to the sky as listless vines and parched plants droop in the endless heat. Then the clouds roll in, and the rain pours. And Tess, her friends, and their Mamas join in a rain dance to celebrate the shower that renews both body and spirit. Through exquisite language and acute observation, Karen Hesse evokes this refreshing experience, and Jon J M...more
Hardcover, 32 pages
Published
March 1st 1999
by Scholastic Press
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
496)
Come on, Rain! Written by Karen Hesse and illustrated by Jon J Muth encompasses beautiful illustrations of the African American characters and slang. The story seems to be set in the Deep South. The main characters are Mamma and Tessie. Mamma and Tessie live together and they are witnessing a drought in the midst of exasperating heat. The Mamma and little girl, Tessie, are beautifully illustrated and seem to have a good relationship. They are impatiently waiting on the rain to come, and while th...more
It's a hot day. It's a very hot day, and I imagine it's muggy too. Hot, humid, no rain in three weeks, the plants and the people wilting. When our protagonist sees the clouds coming in she gets her friends and tells them to get their bathing suits. You can *feel* the relief when they (and their color-coded mothers) go dancing in the rain as that heat breaks. You can just about feel the rain on you by looking at the pictures! The text makes the mood - weary and tired when it's hot, happier when t...more
Main Characters: Tessie, Momma
Point of View: 1st person
Setting: City block on a very hot summer day
Plot: The story opens with a Tessie and Momma suffering through a dry spell on a very hot summer day. Tessie is optimistically hoping for rain when she spots storm clouds in the distance. She begins to alert her friends and neighbors of the approaching rain so that they may gather and enjoy the relief together. When the rain arrives, her friends and their mother all dance in the rain, basking in th...more
Point of View: 1st person
Setting: City block on a very hot summer day
Plot: The story opens with a Tessie and Momma suffering through a dry spell on a very hot summer day. Tessie is optimistically hoping for rain when she spots storm clouds in the distance. She begins to alert her friends and neighbors of the approaching rain so that they may gather and enjoy the relief together. When the rain arrives, her friends and their mother all dance in the rain, basking in th...more
If a picture book could emanate heat, the reader would be on fire with Come On, Rain! By Karen Hesse with illustrations by the minimalist painter, Jon J. Muth. An entire city enveloped in a heat wave as seen through the eyes of the sweet and precocious Tessie. “The smell of hot tar and garbage bullies the air…” The reader is right there with Tessie on that apartment fire escape staring off, hopeful, into the sky watching for rain clouds to move in. “Mamma sinks into a kitchen chair and sweeps of...more
This book was used as a poem writing activity in class. We first got the story read aloud to us and then we got a copy of the text and did a choral read as a class. Then we picked out our favorite lines from the text and highlighted them, then we had to pick our very favorite line (15 words or less) and write it on a sentence strip. Then as a whole class we read our sentence as a poem. Collect all the sentences and put them up in the class in the order they were read aloud.
With older kids, as w...more
With older kids, as w...more
A young girl eagerly awaits a coming rainstorm to bring relief from the oppressive summer heat. Through exquisite language and acute observation, Newbery medalist Karen Hesse recreates the glorious experience of a quenching rainstorm on a sweltering summer day. Jon J Muth's masterful and lyrical watercolors perfectly reflect the spirit of the text. (summary from the book)
Potential Audience: Grades 2-4
Genre: Fiction, picture book
Curricular Use: Read-aloud; Could be a great book to help teach elem...more
Potential Audience: Grades 2-4
Genre: Fiction, picture book
Curricular Use: Read-aloud; Could be a great book to help teach elem...more
Jul 07, 2010
dee
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Karen Hesse/Jon J. Muth fans
Shelves:
children-s-books
A little girl's hope for rain after a long dry and very hot spell come to life. Karen Hesse who wrote Out of the Dust, does a great job again with drought conditions. The illustrator Jon J. Muth does an excellent job. His pictures capture the heat and the rain perfectly. I especially like where mothers and daughters dance in the rain together. It makes you want to go out and do some puddle stompin'. You can feel their joy in the see the fun in his paintings. Ms. Hesse does an excellent job once...more
Author: Karen Hesse; Illustrator: Jon J Muth; (Print,) Age: 7-9
Come On, Rain! is about a little girl and her mother hoping for rain on a hot summer day; everyone, the neighborhood kids, the neighbors, want it to rain. The story is flooded with imagery and almost every literary element. The girl and her three friends burst at their seems with anticipation of the rain...and then...!
This story is good for its uses of imagery and vivid descriptions. I would use this book for reading and social studi...more
Come On, Rain! is about a little girl and her mother hoping for rain on a hot summer day; everyone, the neighborhood kids, the neighbors, want it to rain. The story is flooded with imagery and almost every literary element. The girl and her three friends burst at their seems with anticipation of the rain...and then...!
This story is good for its uses of imagery and vivid descriptions. I would use this book for reading and social studi...more
"The rain has made us new." Come On, Rain is the story of Tessie as she is waiting for the rain on a hot summer day. Her and her mom dance around in the rain during a downpour. This book is for children age four to eight years old. You can feel the heat as Tess looks up at the sky begging for rain. The lyrical writing is fun to read and the pastel images are beautiful. This book reminds me of all the hot summer days when the sky bursts open and rain pours out of the sky. Children love playing in...more
This book is about a girl and her mother that desperately wanted it to rain. They are going through a drought and need for it to rain because their plants are parched and they are miserable because they do not have an air-conditioner. Finally, the clouds begin to get dark and it starts to rain. The daughter calls her friends to tell them to put their swimsuits on and play in the rain. When the mother’s sees this they go outside too and play in the rain. This book contains a lot sentence types, a...more
I love this book! I felt immediately engulfed in the drooping, oppressive heat of a long, rainless summer... the expectancy and the urgent NEED for the rain to come and break the spell... the sheer delight of the first raindrops and the mounting glee as the rain pours down. This is a lovely, lovely story from two bright stars in the children's book galaxy. I think this was done before Muth became "famous" for his Zen books. I'm familiar with Karen Hesses novels but now I'll be on the look out fo...more
4 likes · like · see review
view all 3 comments
"Come On, Rain" is a great story about a little girl and a neighborhood who is awaiting for rain to come. While there is a drought, the little girl and her neighbors wait and wait for the rain to come! After the rain finally starts to fall, they kids put on their swim suits and go out into the rain! They feel really clean and refreshed!
As a teacher, I would use this book to teach writer's craft because the author uses a great deal of voice and you can hear the little girl's voice throughout the...more
As a teacher, I would use this book to teach writer's craft because the author uses a great deal of voice and you can hear the little girl's voice throughout the...more
I lulled my 4yr old into quiet reading this book to him tonight. Quiet. He was most likely responding to the lyrical tone in my voice. The writing sang like verse. Vibrant words rarely used in childrens books entranced me beginning to end. The watercolor illustrations carried the words along as well. Come On, Rain! is a simple story about a scorching summer day and a little girl wishing for the skies to open up so the kids can dance in swimsuits, splash in puddles, and laugh in raindrops.
I normally don't review the books that I read to my daughter but this one did something to me. While I was reading it, I felt myself settle into my Southern drawl that I normally disguise every chance I get and I just enjoyed the words, explaining some to my five year old, and allowing the rest to settle over me. I felt like we shared something special while reading this, something that only mothers and daughters can share. Karen Hesse has a lyrical way with words and I was thoroughly impressed.
The story was set in deep South Africa. People, especially Tessie, were looking forward to having some rain to cool down the super hot summer. When children thought that it was goint to rain, they even put on their swimming suits to be ready for some fun in the rain. Finally, the rain came, and all people were very excited. I like the vivid and creative language in this book. When I read that "the sky was swollen," I could see the big clouds that made the sky seem to be swollen.
Wonderful book with great art and pictures; the illustrations are tremendous!!! It is a cute story set in a place where it hasn't rained in three weeks. The girl keeps saying things like, "Come on Rain." Her mom tells her it won't rain cause it hasn't in three weeks, but at the end of the story it does rain and the children go out to play in it, soon the mommas join in with them in their celebration of the rain. This is also a good story that brings in cultures into the classroom.
Sep 27, 2011
Bethann
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
family,
fiction,
african-american,
summer,
friendship,
fun,
weather,
daughters,
picture-book
I enjoyed this book, because of the feeling the little girl goes through. At the beginning, I could tell she was a little sad about the weather and not being allowed to wear her bathing suit. By the end of the book I could plainly see how happy she was to be out playing in the rain with her mother and friends. It showed me how much we should actually appreciate rainfall! I never thought about how much fun one could have out in the rain!
This is a delightfully told story, told via some lovely poetry that just flows off the page. The illustrations are really wonderful and special too.
The descriptions were spot on: of the unbearable oppressive heat, of the refreshing and fun rain, of the joy of play, of how certain moments can be so special, and captured so well the compelling anticipation.
It reminded me of childhood and the magic some rainstorms seemed to have.
It was both sophisticated and accessible, and both fun and emotionally...more
The descriptions were spot on: of the unbearable oppressive heat, of the refreshing and fun rain, of the joy of play, of how certain moments can be so special, and captured so well the compelling anticipation.
It reminded me of childhood and the magic some rainstorms seemed to have.
It was both sophisticated and accessible, and both fun and emotionally...more
2 likes · like · see review
This story is about a little girl who is eager for the rain to come and save her and her family from a horrible drought. The story shows how much of an impact rainwater has on the environment through its great illustrations and text. This book does a great job on catching the reader's attention. I would definitely use this book to teach students about strong writing or even as a hook for a science lesson on the water cycle.
Mar 19, 2010
Ann
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommended to Ann by:
Kathryn
Shelves:
childrens-stories,
picture-books
What a great read! I love the illustrations that complement the text, and completely capture that hazzy summer heat.
A longer picture book than most, Hesse really gives the feel of summer and that anxiousness when looking at those first storm clouds on the horizon! While at times I thought the text was a tad too artsy, that's really just my own personal taste.
Overall a really great and unique book! Definitely recommended!
A longer picture book than most, Hesse really gives the feel of summer and that anxiousness when looking at those first storm clouds on the horizon! While at times I thought the text was a tad too artsy, that's really just my own personal taste.
Overall a really great and unique book! Definitely recommended!
3 likes · like · see review
What is life like for an African American girl in the heat of a summer drought. Tessie will glide her audiences through the world of imagination that transform the hottest day into a most enjoyable and pleasant time of the year. Moreover, her perseverance and hope for rain ceased everyone sweat in the heat of a summer day. Soon, they were all dancing in the rain.
I love this book! Karen Hesse has really wonderful imagery. These words in this book really make you believe that it has not rained for weeks and makes you want to dance in the rain with everyone. Even the way the words are written on the page add to what the book is trying to convey. This book has some really great vocabulary and would be good for older grades.
Mar 20, 2013
Jennifer Kim
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
3601-family-dynamics,
3601-personal-narrative
This book is a wonderful book full of engaging illustrations. It tells the story of a young girl and mother who are suffering through yet another day of a drought with stifling heat. This book would be great to read to students to teach craft and show as an example of descriptive writing. This book can also show just how important illustrations are to a book. The poetic nature also makes it a great book to base a writing activity on.
Excellent book to share with young readers. Especially during smoldering hot summer months, when you wish it would just rain. This book is also a great read when trying to integrate literature into science, because it touches on both observation and weather! This book can be used in the classroom to introduce weather observation.
despite the floods we had over the past couple of years, i'm still deeply in love with rain and i'll always be! and whoever thinks not.. I recommend this book for you!
I definitely loved the story and mostly the black characters! outstanding work and super brilliant illustrations. this book made me appreciate illustrators even more!
I definitely loved the story and mostly the black characters! outstanding work and super brilliant illustrations. this book made me appreciate illustrators even more!
Excellent book to share with young readers. Especially during smoldering hot summer months, when you wish it would just rain. This book is also a great read when trying to integrate literature into science, because it touches on both observation and weather! This book can be used in the classroom to introduce weather observation.
Hesse tells a refreshing story of a young girl, her friends, and their mamas enjoying the sweet coolness of rain after three weeks of sweltering heat.
Muth's illustrations leave much to be desired in terms of details and facial expression but he does capture the relief, joy, and excitement of the much needed rain.
Muth's illustrations leave much to be desired in terms of details and facial expression but he does capture the relief, joy, and excitement of the much needed rain.
Great Book! This uniquely written book clearly makes you feel what the character in the book and her mother so desperately want, and need, Rain! The illustrations are beautifully drawn, the text is cleverly written so it only helps to convey the message that rain is desperately needed. An enjoyable read for students!
How in the world did I miss this gem? It's Jon Muth's first picturebook for crying out loud! Ah-mazing perspective. Loved the multiculturalness of it. And the size diversity... except that it was both of the black moms that were bigger--that stereotype needs to die. But aside from that a pretty practically picturebook.
An absolutley adorable book. This story is full of great and colorful illustrations. About a young girl and her mom living in the south and experiencing a drought. Everyone wants nothing but rain to come and when it does, everyone goes outside to enjoy it by playing and dancing it in. I really enjoyed this story.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Karen Hesse is an American author of children's literature and literature for young adults, often with historical settings. Her novel Out of the Dust was the winner of the 1998 Newbery Medal and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. In 2002, Hesse was a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship.
For more information, please see http://us.macmillan.com/author/karenh...
More about Karen Hesse...
For more information, please see http://us.macmillan.com/author/karenh...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
