Review - Rainy Day: A Little Moral Story About Worry

Rainy Day: A Little Moral Story About Worry (Dan Yaccarino's Happyland)
by Dan Yaccarino
Date: 2016
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 22
Format: e-book
Source: library

In Rainy Day, Glub-Glub worries so much about getting wet that he almost misses all the fun of frolicking in the rain.

HAPPYLAND introduces three friends—Bink, Clyde, and Glub-Glub—in a series of delightful adventures that illustrate issues including sharing, gratitude, and worry.

There’s nothing more important for little kids entering preschool than to be emotionally ready—ready to separate from their parents, to mix and play with new children, to broaden their sense of the world. HAPPYLAND, from award-winning children’s author Dan Yaccarino, is the board book series that gives kids, and their parents, the language they need to take these emotional steps.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This book isn't even trying.

I was first exposed to Yaccarino's work with Doug Unplugged, which I enjoyed. But this... I don't even know what to call this, other than a waste of money. If I'd bought it, I would've been sorely disappointed. It's terribly short, for one thing. The fish doesn't like rain. He worries about going outside. He gets dressed in his boots and raincoat and grabs his umbrella (okay, a fish all suited up for the rain is kind of funny, I'll give the book that) and goes outside. When he sees his friends playing in the rain, he suddenly likes the rain and everything is fine. I know this is a board book for little kids, but it's way too simplistic. What is it about seeing his friends that helps? Why does he suddenly like the rain? Does his reason for disliking it go away? None of this is answered, and as a result, the story sort of feels incomplete.

The illustrations aren't anything special here, either. They're colourful and bold, but I remember liking the illustrations in Doug Unplugged a lot more.

Premise: 1/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 2/5
Illustrations: 2/5
Originality: 1/5

Enjoyment: 1/5

Overall: 1.33 out of 5