The Rain Stomper

Title:  The Rain Stomper 

Author/Illustrator: Addie Boswell/Eric Belasquez 

APA Citation: Boswell, A. K. (2008). The rain stomper. New York, NY: Marshall Cavendish Children. 

Lexile Score: AD270L- Recommended adult read to child (Ages 4-8) 

Target Audience: I think this is a great story for all ages.  It exemplifies a young girl overcoming her emotions and spreading joy through her neighborhood. 

Side note:  The illustrations in this book were impeccably done.  Eric Velasquez really captured the images of a variety of children from different ethnicities.  

Summary: This is a wonderful story about a girl who was overjoyed to participate in a parade for her very first time.  However, on the day of the parade, a rainstorm put a halt to her excitement by canceling the parade.  Jazmin's anger moved her to the beat of the rain, and through her expressive movement, she overcame her anger and created a parade of her own. 

Evaluation: 

	4	3	2	1
Theme/Moral	The theme/moral of the story was worthwhile and provided a non-biased message for the reader.	Theme of the story was worthwhile but portrayed a somewhat biased message for the reader.	Theme of the story was somewhat worthwhile, but portrayed a biased message for the reader.	Theme/moral of the story was not worthwhile and portrayed a biased message for the reader.
Characterization	Characters in the story were relatable and did not portray typical stereotypes.	Characters in the story were relatable but some characteristics portrayed typical stereotypes.	Characters in the story were somewhat relatable, however portrayed characteristics  typical of stereotypes.	Characters in the story were relatable and portrayed characteristics  typical of stereotypes.
Illustrations	Illustrations in the story were relatable and did not portray typical stereotypes.	Illustrations in the story were relatable but some characteristics portrayed typical stereotypes.	Illustrations in the story were somewhat relatable, however portrayed characteristics  typical of stereotypes.	Illustrations in the story were not relatable and portrayed characteristics  typical of stereotypes.
Multicultural Aspects	Story provided accurate representations of  several cultures.	Story provided accurate representations of more than one culture.	Story provided accurate representation of only one culture.	Story did not provide accurate representations of  the culture discussed.
Historical Value	The story's historical references were accurate and did not convey a biased opinion of the event depicted.	The story's historical references were accurate, did not convey some biased opinion of the event depicted.	The story's historical references were somewhat accurate, and did convey a biased opinion of the event depicted.	The story's historical references were not accurate, and conveyed a biased opinion of the event depicted.
Self and Social Identities	This book positively counteracts stereotypical messages based on gender, color, economic status, family structure, and/or abilities.	This book attempts to counteracts stereotypical messages based on gender, color, economic status, family structure, and/or abilities.	This book does not reinforce stereotypical messages based on gender, color, economic status, family structure, and/or abilities.	This book reinforces stereotypical messages based on gender, color, economic status, family structure, and/or abilities.
Language	This book did not contain any "loaded" words, and used alternatives to generic terms.	This book did not contain any "loaded" words, but did use some generic terms.	This book did not contain "loaded" words, however, consistently used generic terms.	This book did contain "loaded words, and consistently used generic terms.
Overall Rating	I would use this book in my future classroom and recommend it to other teachers.	I would try to use this book in my future classroom and might recommend it to other teachers.	If the occasion arose, I might read this book, but probably would not recommend it.	I would not use or recommend this book.

Overall Score: 30/32 

Literary Elements: Repetition, personification, onomatopoeia, metaphor 

Social Justice Elements:  Strong sense of community, overcoming emotions, turning negatives into positives 

Sample Lesson:  If I were to do a lesson on this book, I would focus on the onomatopoeia used throughout this text and ask the students  to onomatopoeia to tell their own story.  Another option might be to have the students focus on the rhythmic sounds they hear within the story and have the students create a song for The Rain Stomper to sing while stomping in the rain.