Rain Before Rainbows

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At the end of the story Tom surmises: “If one person can save a turtle, just imagine what we can all do when we work together. We can overcome diseases, invent amazing new things and make the world a better place by helping animals, and helping each other.” Regé-Jean will read Rain Before Rainbows by Smriti Halls and David Litchfield about a girl and her companion fox who travel together from a place of loss and despair, through uncertain times, towards the hope of colour, light and life. They learn that, in the midst of rain, rainbows can be hard to see but, with courage and the help of good friends, there is always a way out of darkness. For anyone going through a difficult passage, this uplifting, beautifully illustrated picture book is about finding optimism in the darkest of places. Rege’s story will air on Sunday 14 March, followed the next day by a story from singer Rag‘n’Bone Man. He will be reading My Dad Used to be So Cool by Keith Negley, a funny and relatable story about a dad who was in a band but who is no longer the cool guy he once was. An engaging story about how children can show their parents they are still cool after all, even if it’s not in quite the same way.

On Tuesday 16 March, actress Felicity Jones will read the very apt story, The Huffalots, by Eve Coy. Here a Mum wakes up her Huffalots to find they are grumpy. Eventually, with the help of a big cuddle, they become Lovealots. But it's been a long day and Mum is now grumpy and tired. It’s a good thing the Lovealots know exactly what to do. A little girl travels through perilous landscapes, meeting dangerous dragons in a dark forest and navigating treacherous seas. Yet, when she finds land, kind and wise animals guide her through a sunlit woodland to the sun dawning overhead. The girl builds a shelter in the woodland and knows that the future is bright, and the worst is behind her. This story would be good to use within PSHE and looking at perseverance and working through difficulties as there’s always something bright at the end as well as this it would be nice to look at the role of friendship in troubling times. The girl adventures with her fox friend, could she have made it all the way to the end if she was on her own? This is such a lovely story book and perfect for showing children that there are always good things happening after bad. 'Rain Before Rainbows' has been released as a free ebook by the publisher (before the physical release in October) to raise awareness and hopefully to help raise some money for the 'Save With Stories' campaign run by Save the Children charity. It's this free ebook that I'm reviewing and I think it's a lovely book to embrace the campaign, and a great one to focus on at this strange time, given the weird situation everyone is in and the importance of the rainbow as a symbol of hope. But it's also a great book to share with children at any time, regardless of what is happening in the outside world.

Rain Before Rainbows’ is a simple rhyming picture book with a story of a girl and her fox friend who have to leave their home during a storm after a terrible fire engulfs the castle they lived in. The girl and the fox must deal with rain and storms, and a dark scary night all while journeying somewhere far away. During the journey they encounter scary creatures and a raging storm in an ocean before finally finding a new and hopeful land where there are new animal friends to meet and where eventually the night turns into a bright and wonderful new day. I am currently grieving and going through some other trauma. This book is a good reminder of the help and support that is there, and of hope and just of a number of things. This book came along at just the right time for me. I am very sensitive to visuals, so these are even more impacful on me than they may be for some because of my sensory issues.

This is such a lovely story book and perfect for showing children that there are always good things happening after bad. ‘Rain Before Rainbows’ has been released as a free ebook by the publisher (before the physical release in October) to raise awareness and hopefully to help raise some money for the ‘Save With Stories’ campaign run by Save the Children charity. It’s this free ebook that I’m reviewing and I think it’s a lovely book to embrace the campaign, and a great one to focus on at this strange time, given the weird situation everyone is in and the importance of the rainbow as a symbol of hope. But it’s also a great book to share with children at any time, regardless of what is happening in the outside world. There are many messages that this book contains. What stands out most for me personally is the idea that the journey that the girl and her Fox friend find themselves on is obviously really tough and really scary, but they keep going. They keep holding on to hope. I completely loved that idea when I first started drawing the book all those months ago, and I absolutely love it now as I sit here writing this note. In fact, the idea of ‘Hope over Fear’ is one of the reasons the Fox looks the way it does. No matter how dark and terrifying things might get, the pattern on Fox’s fur will be a constant reminder of the light and natural beauty that exists in the world. I don't have much to say except that this will appeal to kids who are facing difficulties in their early years. It is very important to have books who aknowledge the hardness of life but who are also hopeful, filled with beautiful pictures to look at. A real piece of art. To finish the week there will be a story read in support of Comic Relief. More details on who the special reader is will be announced soon.

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Rain Before Rainbows‘ has been released as a free ebook by the publisher Walker (before the physical release in October) to raise awareness and hopefully to help raise some money for the ‘Save With Stories’ campaign run by Save the Children charity.

It's the story about how life is a long, difficult and bumpy road, you have mountains to climbed, and oceans to cross, but, there's always a rainbow after the rain. Life is never pure sunshine, but when I wrote this book I really didn’t envisage the clouds that would darken our skies the world over. We have all had to embark on a journey we didn’t expect, facing difficulty and danger, often separated from friends and loved ones. We may feel alone. But we are not. Most of us have had troubles in our lives of one sort or another. In many cases, the dark days started in our childhoods even - and that can really mess a person up. What is important, is to remember to be kind ( do no harm but take no shit) and this book helps with that. This is a charming book, with an easy rhythm to the wonderful story with a great message. The illustrations are gorgeous. Together they are mesmerising. Drawing this book was a complete joy. The emotion that comes through Smriti’s poetic writing is really powerful and it was a very happy challenge to try and translate that visually within the illustrations.The second time I took note of the rhyming words and as the book progressed my thoughts turned to the book being more of a metaphor regarding the child, a young girl and her fox friend going through a tough time. I read it as the girl was going through some mental health challenges and the book was showcasing her bad thoughts and then there was a brighter new day.

Inspired by Psalm 30:5, “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning,” this British import offers hope and purpose, reminding readers that waiting brings reward and sowing comes before the crop and the flower stem before blossom. . .The poetry of the text builds on the sentiment of the scripture and although it complements the illustrations, it is compelling enough to be read independently. . . An uplifting book with a timeless message—that tomorrow will be better. Rain Before Rainbows' is a simple rhyming picture book with a story of a girl and her fox friend who have to leave their home during a storm after a terrible fire engulfs the castle they lived in. The girl and the fox must deal with rain and storms, and a dark scary night all while journeying somewhere far away. During the journey they encounter scary creatures and a raging storm in an ocean before finally finding a new and hopeful land where there are new animal friends to meet and where eventually the night turns into a bright and wonderful new day. A girl goes on a journey with her fox friend and things aren’t always easy but in the end there is a bright and beautiful world. The images start off quite dark but as the journey continues the colours brighten as the sun appears. Brilliant colour and lively rhyming couplets tell the story of Leopard and his friends who decide not to invite Aardvark to their party because he's not as cool as they are.Such a beautiful book! The illustrations are perfect and the words can be uplifting to not only children but adults as well. For the past few months a lot of you have been drawing your own rainbows and displaying them on your windows. I have loved seeing some of these on my daily walks. They always remind me of all the brave people in the world. They also remind me of the Girl and her magic Fox and the journey that they had together. Hope over Fear. Rain Before Rainbows.’