Eleanor grabbed Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain off a shelf at the library the other day. I remember it from Reading Rainbow when I was a kid, but I thought it was probably a little too old for her. To my surprise - she loved it, and we've read it a couple of times.
It's a very rhythmic, repetitive book, which opens
This is the great
Kapiti Plain,
All fresh and green
from the African rains --
But
unfortunately the rains were late one year. The big creatures migrated
away, the grass was brown and dead, and the cows mooed for the rain to
fall from the sky. Luckily, a young herder named Ki-pat was ready for
the challenge.
This was the shot
that pierced the cloud
And loosed the rain
with thunder LOUD!
A shot from the bow,
so long and strong,
And strung with a string,
a leather thong;
A bow for the arrow
Ki-pat put together,
With a slender stick
and an eagle feather;
From the eagle who happened
to drop a feather,
A feather that helped
to change the weather.
I love the beautiful illustrations that accompany the lilting, repetitive text. It's a great story, but the pictures make it an awesome book! Plus, the fact that Ki-pat gets a wife and a little Ki-pat, who continues the herding/cloud-shooting tradition, brings everything full circle.
Anybody else still remember Reading Rainbow episodes?
Rating: 4 out of 5
Recommended age: 1-5
This post is day twelve of my 31 Days of Awesome Kids' Books.
This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
