Lila and the Secret of Rain: 1

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Lila and the Secret of Rain by David Conway and Jude Daly – 2007 – Simple, touching story about how a girl brings rain to her village. Really enjoyed how the stories Lila found to be the saddest stories she knew but when she was honest and told of how she was suffering under the sun, then the rain came… Good to partner with a few other rain related books! I think reading this book will support discussion of cultural similarities and differences, as well as geographical impacts on a society. Your children can either highlight the adjectives within the sentences or use the word bank to insert the adjectives to complete the sentences. Lila is so worried that when her grandfather whispers to her the secret of rain, she decides to go and talk to the sky herself.

Lila's grandfather shares a secret with Lila that she must walk to the highest point on the hill and narrate her tale of difficulties to the Sky. Beautiful language – ‘the sky was ebony with emotion’ – accompanies delicate illustrations that convey the sparseness of life and landscape. This unit is fully aligned with the National Curriculum and uses an enquiry-approach to develop student progression. You could use this word mat containing some of the key vocabulary from the story to support the teaching of Lila and the Secret of Rain by David Conway.His first picture book The Most Important Gift of All illustrated by Karin Littlewood, was nominated for The Kate Greenaway Medal in 2006. This can also be used to talk about natural resources and how different cultures rely on it and how they use it.

You can also allow your class to reflect more on persuasive writing and think about how Lila persuaded the sky in the story and the reasons for it. Follow the story of Lila and her village in Kenya, and how she saves her people from drought by learning the secret of rain from her grandfather. The vivid text and beautiful illustrations also helps to tell a powerful story of something we take for granted.In this activity, we look at how Lila tries (and succeeds) at persuading the sky to stop the sun from shining and start the rain. All resources included, excluding ‘tell me grid’ which was found online and therefore not owned by myself. Lila and the Secret of Rain is a story about a Kenyan village that is experiencing a dry spell and the little girl who makes it rain by whispering to the sky.