Rain Player

Overall, I enjoyed this story and felt that it was well done and gave insight into Mayan culture. The first part of the story that I enjoyed was the illustrations. I felt they fit the story very well and matched the tone of a fantasy story-line. My favorite picture in the story was towards the end of the book when Pik is playing Chac and the illustrator shows the whirlwind that Chac sent through the field. During this picture, the jaguar leaps off of Pik’s shoulders and grabs the ball. This illustration really made this part of the story come to life. The next part of the story that I enjoyed was the plot. I found It very interesting to learn a little bit about the Mayan culture and the game of pok-a-tok. I love learning about show more different sports and it was interesting seeing the illustrations of the game and how similar it is to basketball. This was seen early on in the book with the illustration of the court that the game is played on. One facet of the story that I didn’t enjoy was the author’s style. I had no issue with the story, but more-so with the lack of explanation that this was a Mayan story. The only time the exact reference of the story being about Mayan culture was in the author’s note. I feel that this would needed to be explained to children for them to understand the setting and would be ideal to reference on the first page as the author introduced the Ah Kin Mai and Chac, the god of rain. In the end, I felt the message of this story was that we all make mistakes like Pik, but if you use your resources and friends/family, they can help you overcome your mistakes and problems. show less

With vivid colorful images we learn the tale of how the Mayan people kept the rains coming to grow their corn crop. Although it is well written, it does not feel "authentic".

This is an original story told as an ancient/classical Mayan myth. The story is by David Wisniewski, told in a classical Mayan setting with Mayan characters, gods, beliefs, and traditions. Based on the charts and calendars of the priest, it is going to be a year of terrible drought. Everyone is resigned to the upcoming death and devastation except Pik, the son of the chief. He challenges Chac, the rain god, to a pok-a-tok contest. He seeks the help of the jaguar, quetzal, and cenote to try to bring rain to his people (and prevent himself from being turned into a frog).

An original story based on Maya history and legend. His papercut illustrations are wonderful, as always.

This book reminded me of the movie El Dorado; they also play Pok-A-Tok. Overall, I like how they incorporate nature as Gods that give certain powers.

Amazing illustrations. Author's note states that they were based on paper collage (3-D) which was photographed with light for shadows. Beautiful.

This fable is about a boy who must beat the rain Mayan god in a ball game to save his community from a disaster.
This story tells children about being brave and overcoming fear.

3-5