THE RAIN STOMPER

It’s the first day of spring, and Jazmin can’t wait for the big parade. Donning her new uniform, the young majorette twirls her baton, but as she steps outside, the wind whistles, thunder rumbles and rain begins to pour. The storm sends a disheartened Jazmin back inside to mope and wait. But the rain begins to reveal a rhythm: “TAP / tippity / TAP / TAP.” Boswell intersperses a series of onomatopoeic words throughout the narrative to turn the falling drops into the percussive beat of a marching drum: “BOOM / walla / BOOM BOOM.” Jazmin, feeling the rain’s euphonious call, stomps and splashes her way into the street until she’s spinning and skipping to the falling rain. Velasquez stretches his photographic reference to create hyperrealistic perspectives, effectively capturing Jazmin’s defiant dance. Words slap against the city sidewalk, as text flows into images and the artwork’s lines stream across the page. While there may be too many “TAT / rattle / rattle / TAT”–type sequences, Boswell nevertheless shows how the spirit can overcome a rained-on parade. (Picture book. 4-8)