Rain Before Rainbows

Product Information

Rain Before Rainbows’ is a simple rhyming picture book. The story of a girl and her fox friend who have to leave their home after a terrible fire engulfs the castle they lived in. The girl and the fox encounter and must deal with scary creatures and a raging storm whilst on a long journey before finally finding a new land where there are new friends to meet and eventually the darkness turns into a bright and wonderful new day. 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. 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. 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.’ A luminous book to help children at difficult times, Rain Before Rainbows has a simple rhyming text that reminds the reader that, despite the difficulties life can bring, there is always light on the horizon and the promise of a better day. Importantly, too, that others can help – when the little girl finds her animal guides in the forest, she reminds us that there are experts and wise ones who can help us. People who may have experienced the thing we are before now.

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. 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. 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.” 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.Cave Baby is restless and sets about amusing himself. But he is warned that being naughty will mean 'A mammoth's going to throw you to the big brown bear!' 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.

A simple story with a powerful message. It’s a great message to share with children, not only during this strange time but also any difficult time in their lives. It’s a message to let children (and adults) know that better times will come even if there are bad things happening now. Indeed, as the title says you can’t have a rainbow without first having some rain!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. This book was originally released for free in its digital format as part of Save The Children’s ‘Save With Stories’ campaign during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.