The Rain Came Down

“The Rain Came Down” is a cute little story told by David Shannon. This story to me was very comical. Throughout the story the town is having a bad day because it is pouring raining outside. By the end, the rain stops and everyone comes together to make peace. I enjoyed how David made his illustrations look 3D. It made me feel as if I were there. I notice that David Shannon kept this book flowing by adding one more problem to the next and then in the end brought it all together for a happy ending. I also liked how colorful each illustration was. I enjoy reading books like these because it’s exciting to see what’s going to happen next.

I should have liked this more. I totally appreciate that rain makes me gloomy and grumpy, and could affect a whole community, given some particular events. But I'm just not a fan of Shannon's style of art, (though this is less over-the-top than the David books), and (to me) the text seemed choppy and clunky.

A yucky, rainy day causes many problems in a little town. Traffic gets backed up and everyone begins to argue. Once it stops raining and a rainbow appears, all is right in this little town. This book really makes you think about slowing down and taking time to treat each other kindly, no matter the stress around you.

a. I really enjoyed this book for many reasons. First, the illustrations make the book. The book has very little literary content in terms of words and plot but the illustrations make the book amazing. The illustrations are very detailed and help progress the story. The illustrations also help tell the story when the words do not. For example, towards the beginning of the story on the left page the illustrations show a women in a taxi and was in a hurry. Therefore, she told the driver to honk the horn. On the right page almost looking back at the taxi, even though the illustrations are separate, the man yelled. The way the illustrations are displayed on the pages makes separate illustrations for separate pages connected. The second show more reason why I enjoyed this book was the plot. The plot is very simple. It shows a small town completely up in arms about the rain and the idea is very true to real life. Many people get very exasperated when it rains and on the flip side, people are overjoyed when the rain finally stops and this book just heightens those simple ideals. For example, this quote describes the drastic change the weather had on this small town. “…the rain stopped! And so did the noise. The sun came out, and the air smelled fresh and sweet. Everything shimmered and a rainbow stretched across the rooftops”. This quote makes it sound as if the most magical thing on earth is happening but truthfully, the rain stopping was all that happened. However, the story is very exaggerated but that is what makes it a classic. The main idea of this story is when a person’s circumstances are less than ideal it is important to still be patient and kind to others because better times are in the near future. show less

This was a very funny story about how the rain causes chaos in a town. When the rain started that’s when the chickens started squawking which made the cats and dogs start going crazy which then made the man yell and wake up the baby and then it goes down hill from there. The whole town is in chaos because of the rain. It is one thing after another after another and when the rain finally stops, the town goes back to normal. Everyone is helping one another clean up the mess from the chaos and the town is back to normal. This was a very funny story to read to children for giggles. I love the illustration the author uses and how colorful his books are. He is on my list for favorite authors. I cannot wait to read some of his books to my show more own students. show less

I enjoyed reading this book. From the start, it was raining, and the chickens made the cat yowl, and the cat made the dog bark, and the dog made the man yell, and the man made the baby cry, and so on. The entire town starts bickering and yelling at each other, while it was still raining. Then suddenly, the rain stopped. Everyone stopped fussing at one another and decided to help each other out and go on with their days, happily. I like that the rain was used to make everyone unhappy, and as soon as the rain stopped, the entire town was happy again.

Chaos ensued when the rain began pouring. Babies began crying, animals hollering, and traffic was a nightmare! People were bickering and horns were honking. It seemed as though they would never be happy. But then, the rain stopped… (2000, K-2)

The rain came down by David Shannon can have multiple uses in the classroom. It could obviously be used as a story to read during a rainy day, but it also could be a starting point for a class discussion about moods and feelings and why certain events can have such an impact on the way we act. When the rain came down, everyone in the area became angry and rushed and irritable, but once the sun came out, they began to all get along. It sort of makes you think about how different the world would be show more if we all just put aside out differences and made our own sunny days. show less