Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain (Picture Puffin S.) (Reading Rainbow Books) (Storytape, Puffin)

by Verna Aardema

A cumulative rhyme relating how Ki-pat brought rain to the drought-stricken Kapiti Plain. Verna Aardema has brought the original story closer to the English nursery rhyme by putting in a cumulative refrain and giving the tale the rhythm of “The House That Jack Built.”

• ISBN10: 0140546162
• ISBN13: 9780140546163
• Publish Date: 20 May 1992 (first published 9 July 1981)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 29 January 2010
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Penguin USA
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 32
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780140546163

Reviews

[inlibrisveritas]

Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain is a quick rhyming style book that retells the Kenyan story of the Kapiti Plain in the style of The House That Jack Built.

I’m pretty sure I read this as a kid or at least had it read to me at some point, but I’m such a sucker for brilliant artwork that I decided to read it again. The story itself is told in rhyme and repetition, as each page adds a verse and then goes through the previous verses again. The House That Jack Built is one of those stories that a lot of people go to when trying to help their children catch on to the idea of reading by themselves, and I see no reason why this wouldn’t be one as well. It would also be a great addition to a starter poetry collection. It’s a bit higher of a level but the I think the different setting and images would make this one a hit.

The artwork by Beatriz Vidal is fantastic! I love the use of the white outline around the individual elements in the story,which is something I don’t see often and it really makes the colors stand out even more.

This book is a must for those avid little readers! It’s a great little intro book to both poetry and a new culture/place, and it’s beautifully illustrated stepping stone into more complex words and independent reading time.