One Big Rain

Poems for Rainy Days

Compiled by Rita Gray

Gray, Rita, comp. One Big Rain : Poems for Rainy Days. Illustrated by Ryan O'Rourke. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 2010.   ISBN 9781570917165

This book presents a collection of twenty rain-themed poems. The book starts off with a table of contents followed by an introduction and a note about haiku translations, and concludes with acknowledgments organized by seasons. The poems in this book are arranged by seasons starting with Autumn and finishing with Summer. Each season contains five poems with two of them being translated Japanese haiku's. Ryan O'Rourke's oil illustrations are delicate and pleasant while capturing the essence of rain with blues, grays, and olive greens.

This collection offers twenty different poems and twenty different poets including the compiler, Rita Gray. Other poets presented in this book are Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg, Lilian Moore, R. Olivares Figueroa (translated from Spanish), and Sigbjrn Obsfelder (translated from Norwegian). The illustrator, Ryan O'Rourke's work has been admired in galleries, newspapers, and magazines, including a weekly illustration for the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine.

Gray has selected an appropriate variety of poems presenting different poetic styles with  the common theme of rain. This book will provide a great introduction to the different sounds and figurative language poets use. Elementary teachers will appreciate the easy link between science and English because this compilation of poems provides a connection in curriculum with poetry and weather. The poems do not contain too much sentiment, but readers will recall their own experiences in the rain from the mood expressed through the poems.

One poem I would highlight from this collection is "Rain" which is translated from the Norwegian by Sarah J. Hails. The would be a fun poem to start with the teacher reading the poem out loud and then progress by adding the students in at different times, and then finally reading the poem in cannon. This may be difficult at first attempt because the students might get tongue tied. Everyone is sure to enjoy this poetry break.

Rain
(Translated from the Norwegian by Sarah J. Hails)
-Sigbjorn Obstfelder

One is one, and two is two-
we sing in huddles,
we hop in puddles.
Plip, plop,
we drip on roof top,
trip, trop,
the rain will not stop.
Rain, rain, rain, rain,
bucketing rain,
chucketing rain,
rain, rain, rain, rain,
wonderfully raw,
wet to the core!
One is one, and two is two-
we sing in huddles,
we hop in puddles.

Plip, plop,
we drip on roof top,
trip, trop,
the rain will not stop.