Reviews: (by author)

Germein, Katrina. Illustrated by Bronwyn Bancroft. Big Rain Coming. Roland Harvey Books, 1999, $22.95, ISBN 0-949714-66-6.

This is a simple story of a community's wait for rain. Each day for a week Old Stephen predicts 'Big rain coming'. But the rain is slow arriving and it is a week before it does rain, a week during which everyone tries to get cool and even the dogs and frogs wish the rain would come to give them some relief.

The book is illustrated in vibrant colours, evoking the Australian bush. Bronwyn Bancroft the illustrator, is a descendant of the Aboriginal Bunjalung people and some of her technique is reminiscent of Aboriginal rock art as she uses lots of small dots in parts of her illustrations. Each sentence is illustrated with a double-page spread, with the page being covered in colour with the written text in white on the coloured backgrounds. This gives the page a quite unusual look. There is a wonderful impression of movement in the illustrations as we see the wind blowing the trees, the tap dripping, the clouds building up and finally the people dancing for joy in the rain.

Recommended reading level: Age 4-7

Reviewed by Margot Hillel

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