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The Rabbit, the Cloud and the Rainy Day

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Book Synopsis

Rainy days are lots of fun when you have a friend to show you how to play fair – a story for toddlers about empathy and the environment with a surprise rainbow pop-up.

From the winner of the Laugh Out Loud Book Award (Lollies) 2023 and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2014

Rabbit is going fishing, but it’s raining and he does NOT like getting wet. So, he squeeeezes the rain cloud into his bag – now the rain can’t spoil his day! Duck loves the rain, and he sets out to show that bossy bunny how important it is for plants, rivers and the crunchy carrots Rabbit so likes to eat. Can he convince Rabbit to see the sunny side of soggy days and set the cloud free?

Join Rabbit and Duck for a fun story with an environmental message and about the importance of rain in the natural world and seeing things from other points of view.

Our Review Panel says...

A delightful picturebook with a lovely surprise for young readers to enjoy at story time.

With homage to the Odyssey, this is about how Rabbit puts a raincloud in his bag so that his day out fishing can be filled with only sunshine. But when Duck comes along and scolds that rain is necessary, Rabbit is somewhat downcast. Until Duck shows him the magic of the rainbow, and also…puddles!

This delightful picture book not only contains a pop-up rainbow, but also delights in the focus on the action – the backgrounds are white or simply that – background, whereas the action lies in reading the expressions of the characters and the actions they take. Simple and effective, this explores big emotions, how actions have consequences for others, and has excellent use of onomatopoeia throughout.

Readers of Nicola O’Byrne’s works may be familiar with the Rabbit, and will now see him in an outside landscape, while new readers will be won over by details such as the grumpy frog. An excellent early exploration of empathy, weather and the joy of the outdoors.