Rain Before Rainbows

Product Information

Rain Before Rainbows' is a simple rhyming picture book with a story of a girl and her fox friend who have to leave their home during a storm after a terrible fire engulfs the castle they lived in. The girl and the fox must deal with rain and storms, and a dark scary night all while journeying somewhere far away. During the journey they encounter scary creatures and a raging storm in an ocean before finally finding a new and hopeful land where there are new animal friends to meet and where eventually the night turns into a bright and wonderful new day. For anyone going through a difficult passage, this uplifting, beautifully illustrated picture book is about finding optimism in the darkest of places. This book was originally released for free in its digital format as part of Save The Children’s ‘Save With Stories’ campaign during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The story is told in rhyme and pretty minimalistic, instead letting the art speak for itself. But the message doesn't need any more elaboration. If ever there was a right time for a beautiful, uplifting book like this to come into your life, it’s now. An unnamed girl, who we know nothing about, sets off on a journey with nothing but her friend the fox and they travel through storms, rough seas and mountain ranges to reach a place of safety and light. This is a story of friendship, perseverance and hope – things I think every person needs right now. Brilliant colour and lively rhyming couplets tell the story of Leopard and his friends who decide not to invite Aardvark to their party because he's not as cool as they are. This is a lovely story book aimed at children aged 3 – 7 year olds. An excellent tool for showing children that there is hope even when times are bad and difficult things happen.Rege’s story will air on Sunday 14 March, followed the next day by a story from singer Rag‘n’Bone Man. He will be reading My Dad Used to be So Cool by Keith Negley, a funny and relatable story about a dad who was in a band but who is no longer the cool guy he once was. An engaging story about how children can show their parents they are still cool after all, even if it’s not in quite the same way. A little girl travels through perilous landscapes, meeting dangerous dragons in a dark forest and navigating treacherous seas. Yet, when she finds land, kind and wise animals guide her through a sunlit woodland to the sun dawning overhead. The girl builds a shelter in the woodland and knows that the future is bright, and the worst is behind her. This is a charming book, with an easy rhythm to the wonderful story with a great message. The illustrations are gorgeous. Together they are mesmerising. I would recommend getting this picture book. It’s a great way to show and raise issues with children to help them understand that things will get better when they feel things are bad, a message that adults often need too! Loved that the author dedicated it to her sister. It hit all the feels that I have for my sister. 💕

At the end of the story Tom surmises: “If one person can save a turtle, just imagine what we can all do when we work together. We can overcome diseases, invent amazing new things and make the world a better place by helping animals, and helping each other.” There are many messages that this book contains. What stands out most for me personally is the idea that the journey that the girl and her Fox friend find themselves on is obviously really tough and really scary, but they keep going. They keep holding on to hope. I completely loved that idea when I first started drawing the book all those months ago, and I absolutely love it now as I sit here writing this note. In fact, the idea of ‘Hope over Fear’ is one of the reasons the Fox looks the way it does. No matter how dark and terrifying things might get, the pattern on Fox’s fur will be a constant reminder of the light and natural beauty that exists in the world. Regé-Jean will read Rain Before Rainbows by Smriti Halls and David Litchfield about a girl and her companion fox who travel together from a place of loss and despair, through uncertain times, towards the hope of colour, light and life. They learn that, in the midst of rain, rainbows can be hard to see but, with courage and the help of good friends, there is always a way out of darkness.This is such a lovely story book and perfect for showing children that there are always good things happening after bad. ‘Rain Before Rainbows’ has been released as a free ebook by the publisher (before the physical release in October) to raise awareness and hopefully to help raise some money for the ‘Save With Stories’ campaign run by Save the Children charity. It’s this free ebook that I’m reviewing and I think it’s a lovely book to embrace the campaign, and a great one to focus on at this strange time, given the weird situation everyone is in and the importance of the rainbow as a symbol of hope. But it’s also a great book to share with children at any time, regardless of what is happening in the outside world. A free eBook to raise awareness for Save the Children’s ‘Save with Stories’ campaign which is helping children most affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The rainbow has become an incredible symbol of hope and optimism during this time and we hope that this uplifting story can be a source of comfort and light to children and families, and that it inspires anyone who is able to do so, to donate to the Save with Stories campaign. A luminous book to help children at difficult times, Rain Before Rainbows has a simple rhyming text that reminds the reader that, despite the difficulties life can bring, there is always light on the horizon and the promise of a better day. Importantly, too, that others can help – when the little girl finds her animal guides in the forest, she reminds us that there are experts and wise ones who can help us. People who may have experienced the thing we are before now. Rain Before Rainbows’ is a simple rhyming picture book. The story of a girl and her fox friend who have to leave their home after a terrible fire engulfs the castle they lived in. The girl and the fox encounter and must deal with scary creatures and a raging storm whilst on a long journey before finally finding a new land where there are new friends to meet and eventually the darkness turns into a bright and wonderful new day. With dreamlike artwork in fantastical color combinations, rhyming text showcases the cycles in life from night before day, clouds before sunshine, sowing before reaping, etc. As I was reading this one, I was thinking about how appropriate this book would be as a graduation gift for someone heading off into the world. There will definitely be hard days and difficult work, but we can find that silver lining in the end. The illustrations were done in ink and paint and rendered digitally.

Life is never pure sunshine, but when I wrote this book I really didn’t envisage the clouds that would darken our skies the world over. We have all had to embark on a journey we didn’t expect, facing difficulty and danger, often separated from friends and loved ones. We may feel alone. But we are not. I don't have much to say except that this will appeal to kids who are facing difficulties in their early years. It is very important to have books who aknowledge the hardness of life but who are also hopeful, filled with beautiful pictures to look at. A real piece of art. Rain Before Rainbows‘ has been released as a free ebook by the publisher Walker (before the physical release in October) to raise awareness and hopefully to help raise some money for the ‘Save With Stories’ campaign run by Save the Children charity. To finish the week there will be a story read in support of Comic Relief. More details on who the special reader is will be announced soon.I am currently grieving and going through some other trauma. This book is a good reminder of the help and support that is there, and of hope and just of a number of things. This book came along at just the right time for me. I am very sensitive to visuals, so these are even more impacful on me than they may be for some because of my sensory issues.

On Tuesday 16 March, actress Felicity Jones will read the very apt story, The Huffalots, by Eve Coy. Here a Mum wakes up her Huffalots to find they are grumpy. Eventually, with the help of a big cuddle, they become Lovealots. But it's been a long day and Mum is now grumpy and tired. It’s a good thing the Lovealots know exactly what to do. Cave Baby is restless and sets about amusing himself. But he is warned that being naughty will mean 'A mammoth's going to throw you to the big brown bear!' Rain Before Rainbows’ is a simple rhyming picture book with a story of a girl and her fox friend who have to leave their home during a storm after a terrible fire engulfs the castle they lived in. The girl and the fox must deal with rain and storms, and a dark scary night all while journeying somewhere far away. During the journey they encounter scary creatures and a raging storm in an ocean before finally finding a new and hopeful land where there are new animal friends to meet and where eventually the night turns into a bright and wonderful new day. However, the third time I noticed the castle on fire which is set before the story begins and I had missed it. This then took the plot in a different direction for me as it then was about a young girl and her fox friend having to travel over mountains, through stormy seas to get away from their home that had been destroyed and finding a new place.Inspired by Psalm 30:5, “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning,” this British import offers hope and purpose, reminding readers that waiting brings reward and sowing comes before the crop and the flower stem before blossom. . .The poetry of the text builds on the sentiment of the scripture and although it complements the illustrations, it is compelling enough to be read independently. . . An uplifting book with a timeless message—that tomorrow will be better. Such a beautiful book! The illustrations are perfect and the words can be uplifting to not only children but adults as well. This is such a lovely story book and perfect for showing children that there are always good things happening after bad. 'Rain Before Rainbows' has been released as a free ebook by the publisher (before the physical release in October) to raise awareness and hopefully to help raise some money for the 'Save With Stories' campaign run by Save the Children charity. It's this free ebook that I'm reviewing and I think it's a lovely book to embrace the campaign, and a great one to focus on at this strange time, given the weird situation everyone is in and the importance of the rainbow as a symbol of hope. But it's also a great book to share with children at any time, regardless of what is happening in the outside world.