Rain Storytime

Books:
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Mr. Gumpy's motor car by John Burningham. 
New York : Crowell, 1976, c1973. 
Mr. Gumpy's human and animal friends squash into his old car and go for a drive -- until it starts to rain. 

Jack-- it's a rainy day by Rebecca Elgar. 
New York : Kingfisher, 1999. 
"A lift-the-flap pull-the-tab book." 
On board pages. 

Mushroom in the rain. Adapted from the Russian of V. Suteyev, by Mirra Ginsburg. Pictures by Jose Aruego & Ariane Dewey. 
New York, Macmillan Pub. Co. [c1974] 
How can an ant, butterfly, mouse, sparrow, and rabbit all take shelter from the rain under the same mushroom when originally there was room only for the ant? 

In the rain with Baby Duck by Amy Hest; illustrated by Jill Barton. 
Cambridge, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 1995. 
Although her parents love walking in the rain, Baby Duck does not--until Grandpa shares a secret with her. 

Amy loves the rain by Julia Hoban; pictures by Lillian Hoban. 
New York : Harper & Row, c1989. 
Amy and her mother drive through the rain to pick up Daddy. 

Rain by Robert Kalan; illustrated by Donald Crews. 
New York : Greenwillow Books, c1978. 
Brief text and illustrations describe a rainstorm. 

Hello, goodbye written by David Lloyd; illustrated by Louise Voce. 
New York : Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1988. 
A bear, two bees, some birds, and other creatures meet at a tree and say hello until the rain begins and they say goodbye. 

Puddles by Jonathan London; pictures by G. Brian Karas. 
New York : Viking, c1997. 
When the rain stops falling and the skies clear up, it's time to put on boots and go outside to play in the puddles. 

The rainy day puddle by Ei Nakabayashi. 
New York : Random House, c1989. 
Little Frog's puddle grows bigger on a rainy day but becomes much more crowded as other animals come to join him. 

Pete's puddles written by Hannah Roche; illustrated by Pierre Pratt. 
New York : De Agostini Editions : Distributed by Stewart, Tabori & Chang, c1996. 
When it's rainy, Pete can't play outside, but when it stops, he loves to splash around in the puddles.

The rain came down by David Shannon. 
New York : Blue Sky Press, c2000. 
An unexpected rain shower causes quarreling among the members of a small community. 

Wet world by Norma Simon; illustrated by Alexi Natchev. 
Cambridge, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 1995. 
Describes a little girl's activities on a wet, wet, wet day. 

Rain written and illustrated by Manya Stojic. 
New York : Crown, 2000. 
The animals of the African savanna use their senses to predict and then enjoy the rain.

In the middle of the puddle by Mike Thaler; pictures by Bruce Degen. 
New York : Harper & Row, c1988. 
A frog and a turtle watch the rain turn their puddle into an ocean before the sun comes along and returns things to normal. 



Poetry:
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Rainy day rhymes selected by Gail Radley; illustrated by Ellen Kandoian. 
Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1992. 
A collection of poems about rainy days and nights, by authors including Elizabeth Coatsworth, Myra Cohn Livingston, and Aileen Fisher. 

Rainy day : stories and poems edited by Caroline Feller Bauer; illustrated by Michele Chessare. 
New York, NY : HarperCollins, c1985. 
A collection of stories and poems about rain by a variety of authors.

Flannelboards:
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Rain based on Kalan/Crews book

Mr. Gumpy's Motor Car

Five Umbrellas

Five umbrellas stood by the back door,
The red one went outside, then there were four.
Four umbrellas pretty as can be,
The blue one went outside, then there were three.
Three umbrellas with nothing to do,
The green one went outside, then there was one.
Just one umbrella alone in the hall,
The purple one went outside, and that was all! 

Craft:   Make rain hats out of paper
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Puppet:  I use a doll or a Beany baby, dressed in a rain slicker.
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Fingerplays:
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It is Raining
Sung to: "Frere Jacques"

It is raining, It is raining,
On my head, on my head.
Pitter, patter raindrops,
Pitter, patter raindrops,
I'm all wet, I'm all wet! 


Rain Song 
Sung to: "If you're happy and you know it"

First a little drop of rain hit the ground, (Tap, Tap)
Then another drop of rain hit the ground, (Tap, Tap)
Then another and another and another and another,
And pretty soon we heard a different sound. (Splash! Splash!) 


What's the weather? 
Sung to: Oh, My Darling Clementine"

What's the weather, What's the weather.
What's the weather, everyone?
Is it windy, is it cloudy,
Is there rain or is there sun? 

Rain on my Umbrella 
Sung to: "Frere Jacques"

Drip, drip, drop, drop,
Drip, drip, drop, drop,
Drip, drip, drop, 
Drip, drip, drop.
Rain on my Umbrella,
Rain on my umbrella,
Never stops.
Drip, drip, drop. 

Rain

Eency Weency Spider

I Hear Thunder
(To the tune of Frere Jacques)

Busy Windshield Wipers
(Hold arms up in front of body and move them from side to side)

Busy windshield wipers go
A-dash, a-dash, a-dash
Wiping all the drops away
Splash, splash, splash!


Falling Raindrops

Little Raindrops

The Rain

This page updated on December 27, 2001.