Singing in the Rain

by Tim Hopgood (Illustrator), Arthur Freed, Nacio Herb Brown

I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain, Oh, what a glorious feeling!
Spring calls in this classic Broadway number, brought to life in a beautiful picture book--perfect for sharing! Jump in puddles, raise umbrellas, and dance with joy through the pages of this visual story. With colorful, springy scenes and the familiar lyrics, this is a beautiful, gift-worthy, feel-good read-aloud.

Genres: Picture Books, Music, Storytime, Childrens, Fiction, Juvenile, Nature

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Tim Hopgood is an award-winning illustrator whose work has been featured in magazines such as Esquire, GQ, and Harper’s. He lives in York, England.

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sure to cheer you up on a gloomy day!

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

The lyrics to the song ‘Singing in the Rain’ set to artwork. The artwork does take some from the famous musical. It’s one of the greatest scenes ever, I think. Then, the children with umbrellas take to the sky like Mary Poppins and end up in a rainforest dancing with alligators and other wildlife. This celebrates the joy of playing in the rain. Tim Hopgood wants to remind adults too the simple joy of playing in the rain instead of it being a nuisance.

Dynamic artwork. I love the splashes of color in the umbrellas and children’s slickers. The kids are a rainbow of colors and the rain evokes moods with each picture. Children do spin around a lamppost.

Our family, me my brother and sister-in-law are big musical geeks and so we all sat around singing this after dinner one night while the niece and nephew turned the pages looking at the pictures. The nephew said that Michael Jackson is better and could do it better and the niece knew enough to join in with us at times. This was a fun family book. Niece gave it 4 stars and Nephew gave it 3 stars.

[Maggie Hesseling · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful imaginative book. Singing in the Rain has been my favorite musical and song since I was seven. I borrowed the VHS from my drama teacher and I watched it five times that weekend and I was loathed to part with it on Monday morning. This song brings so many memories for me. The CD includes a wonderful cover by Doris Day, who is also a favorite of mine.

The illustrations by Tim Hopgood are wonderful. So colorful, and they imitate my feelings when I listen to this song. I can't believe that I now have a book that perfectly emulates my emotions so well.
The second track on the CD has the picturebook read perfectly as well.

This is definitely a picture book I will treasure forever.

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this song and the movie with this number at the heart is one of my all time favorites. Glorious!

[Théo d'Or]

Nowadays, we can predict everything. Or almost...We can predict the weather too. But...wasn't beautiful in other eras, when rain surprised you at the most unexpected moments ?
I love walking in the rain. Sometimes, singing. I never run. Running would break the spell, thinking that every drop has lived a thousand lives before touching my skin.. How many beautiful things we miss because we're too busy predicting, planning, protecting ourselves from surprises..The best moments are the ones we don't prepare for. The ones that arrive like rain. Like the earth is waking up, after a long, deep sleep.. Beauty appears when we stop trying to predict everything, when we let life surprise us again. It could be the beginning of a beautiful thing.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

The lyrics to the iconic musical have been put to colorful drawings of children frolicking in the rain.

It’s sweet.

Ages: 2 - 4

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[Shandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful book, guaranteed to get the song its based on stuck in your head. I am torn about whether to read it at storytime, as I may find myself singing instead of reading...

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sang my way through this one - loved it!

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Using the classic musical number from Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown as a text, illustrator Tim Hopgood presents this engaging picture-book celebration of rain storms, springtime, and our joyful connection to the world around us. His diverse cast of child characters go singing through the rain, and through the world...

I'm not always a fan of picture-books created from popular songs, as I often feel that as texts, they don't really work well when divorced from their accompanying music. That said, Hopgood's Singing in the Rain is an exception, as I felt that here the text will work very well, as an expression of the idea of the book, even if the reader is unfamiliar with the song. The artwork is colorful and appealing, capturing the fun and excitement of the children playing (and singing) in the rain. Recommended to fans of the song (of which, I am one) and to anyone looking for picture-books about rainstorms and/or springtime.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and full of joy. I love this book and can't wait to buy it in October 2017!

[Miss Pippi the Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

An illustrated book with the lyrics of the song "Singing in the Rain." You can read it or sing it aloud. The large format of the book is great for sharing in a group.

Reviewed from a library copy.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joyous pictures do justice to this wonderful classic Broadway tune.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

These illustrations are perfect!

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many others, I've always loved this exuberant song and that memorable scene from the film of the same name in which its characters go dancing through the streets in the rain with such abandon. Somehow, this picture book captures that very same feeling. While many may associate rain with depression and consider it something to avoid, it is life-giving, and something to celebrate. I'm so delighted that illustrator Tim Hopgood has done so here with such abandon, relying on watercolors, pencils, and calligraphy ink for his images, which were then collaged and colored with Adobe Photoshop. Honestly, the book will make most readers long for some rain so that they can stomping around the neighborhood in their wet weather gear. I smiled all the way as I read, no, I hummed and then sang, along with the lyrics.

[Alimags · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful colors and lots of fun to read aloud. Liked the ethnic diversity in the children as well.

[Bluebelle-the-Inquisitive (Catherine) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author: Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown (based on their song)
Illustrator: Tim Hopgood
Age Recommendation: Early Learning
Topic/ Theme: Rain and happiness
Setting: Gobal

This is such a lovely and colourful book. The rainbow and fun of the raincoats shine so wonderfully through the rain. The characters travel all over, seeing different parts of the world some easily distinct, others less so. This provides something new to see on every page. From animals to flowers to expressions. It is a book that will grow with readers. The illustrations are created through watercolours and pencil, a perfect choice given the rain theme. The watercolour adds the right tone and feel to rain. There is some diversity in the cast of children singing in the rain. I appreciate the choice to include the musical notation as well as the lyrics which form the words of the book.

This edition comes with the book read by British actress Sophie Aldred and a recording of the titular song by Doris Day, available on YouTube (it was unlistenable on my copy). That book reading is wonderful not so much for Aldred's skill as a reader but for the backing track. Through the illustrations, there are animals, clear setting markers in the backing track these are reflected. Rainforests, birds, splashing puddles. It's just really appealing. As is the chime to change the page and that was a sound of my childhood. I used to listen to books like this as a child. I had completely forgotten that until I heard that sound.

This really is a book for all ages. While the intended audience is children Tim Hopgood has kept the adults in mind. In his author note Hopgood says "As adults, we tend to think of rain as an inconvenience rather than the joyous thing that it is. Next time it rains, step outside, feel the rain and give the clouds up above your biggest smile!"

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abundantly joyful.

[Diana C. Kobylak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute book with pictures to go along with the lyrics to the song of the same name.

[Jessica Calaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading age

2 - 4 years

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Singing in the Rain, illustrated by Tim Hopgood. PICTURE BOOK. Henry Holt (Macmillan), 2017. $18. 978-1250127709

Hopgood’s illustrations are as joyful as the original movie and are an apt accompaniment to the lyrics. The problem I have is that as spoken word, the lyrics do not work. You have to sing the song as you are reading the book – otherwise the experience falls flat. So if you are a singing librarian, you will have lots of fun with this. Teach the song to your kids and enjoy the ride.

Pre-K, EL (K-3) – OPTIONAL. Cindy, Library Teacher
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2018...

[Drew Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

When we came upon this book Julie handed it to me sure that I would read it to the children properly (that is sing it to the children) and she was exactly right, I did. It's a fun and colorful presentation of the beloved song, which when you think about it only has one verse which it repeats with interstitial dancing, which of course is just fine. This was a great prelude to the kids' eventual introduction to the movie at a local library screening.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readers will not be able to keep from singing this book out loud when they open up Singing in the Rain by Tim Hopgood. This joyfully illustrated book, based on the song from the film with the same title, is sure to put a smile on the face of the most dour reader! Children ages 2 - 6 will enjoy the sheer glee on the faces of the children portrayed in the illustrations.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

The words are just the song lyrics, but it does allow you to really focus on them. I don't even know what it's like to not sing/read it, so it may be entirely not enchanting to anyone who doesn't know the song. The illustrations are lovely, and Hopgood does a great job of keeping the illustrations light even when they're dark, stormy rain clouds. An enjoyable read for this theatre junkie.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this...but not as much as I thought I would. The lyrics of the song translate well into a picture book format, but I found that I just didn't care for the illustrations. They are cheerful and full of color, mimicking a rainbow on nearly every page. So I should have liked them. But, well, I didn't. Who knows!

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well the pictures are beautiful. The idea is sweet, he wants to encourage everyone to enjoy the rain more. But when you sing it, it goes really fast and it’s over before you know it. My children love books we can sing, and they love the Singin’ in the Rain movie and know all the songs, but I’m afraid there wasn’t enough here to make this book very worthwhile.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good luck trying to read this one aloud without singing it. (I may not be able to use it in storytime, because I'm legit not sure if I can do it!)
Cute illustrations remind us how FUN it is to play in the rain sometimes!

[Heather McC · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my new favorite children's books this book is great for singing or reading aloud, with beautiful full color illustrations that pop and give the already lyrical text an extra jolt of personality. Great for rainy days with indoor recess, or a brain break if kids need to get their wiggles out.

[Samantha DeVoir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book was fun to read because I sang it and my daughter was interested in the illustrations. She did, however, inform me that she did not like the book. That was just because it wasn't what she wanted at the time, it still held her attention better than some books and I enjoyed it.

[Angela De Groot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vibrant, colorful and joyful illustrations in the read or sing aloud picture book based on the famous song performed by Gene Kelly in the movie. Encouraging readers to be positive and to find joy even in bad weather.

[Angela De Groot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vibrant, colorful and joyful illustrations in the read or sing aloud picture book based on the famous song performed by Gene Kelly in the movie. Encouraging readers to be positive and to find joy even in bad weather.