It Rained All Day That Night

by Lillian Morrison (Compiler), Christy Hale (Illustrator)

Whether it's souvenir notebooks, school yearbooks, autograph albums, or on-line guestbooks, kids have been writing each other commemorative notes for generations. Here are some of our favorites from verses our grandmothers remember to up-to-date messages employing the latest on-line shorthand. Vibrantly and cleverly illustrated in sherbet hues by Christy Hale, these effusive inscriptions include messages of friendship, inspiration, one-liners, and nonsense.

Genres: Poetry

80 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2003

About the author

Lillian Morrison's interest in poetry resulting from playing rhyming games with her friends such as jump rope and patty cake. As an adult, she wanted to make poetry fun and accessible for children. In her quest to become a writer, she earned one of her bachelor's degrees at Rutgers University in New Jersey and then another at Columbia University in New York.

She worked for many years at the New York Public Library in young adult services and was recognized as the recipient of the American Library Association's Grolier Award in 1987 for her contributions to stimulating the interests of young people through reading. She was particularly interested in folk rhymes, outdoor sports, dance, jazz and film, saying, "I love rhythms, the body movement implicit in poetry, explicit in sports--I am drawn to athletes, dancers, drummers, jazz musicians, who transcend misery and frustration and symbolize for us something joyous, ordered, and possible in life."

She spent nearly fifty years working at the New York Public Library and, during this time, also served as a lecturer at the schools where she developed her education, Rutgers and Columbia Universities.

Reviews

[Salsabrarian]

A collection of verses and one-liners for signing yearbooks, etc. Particular faves: ITALY (I Trust And Love You); Here's champagne to our real friends, And real pain to our sham friends; Start low and climb high, Best of luck in junior high; Never B (sharp), never B (flat), always B (natural); Girls faults are many, Boys have only two--Everything they say and everything they do; and "Coca-Cola came to town. Pepsi Cola shot him down. Dr. Pepper fixed them up. Now they all drink 7-up."

[Taylor]

This book could be used during a poetry unit or a weather unit. Awesome and bright illustrations.