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Rain Before Rainbows
In this heartfelt story about courage, change, and moving on, a girl and her companion fox travel together away from a sorrowful past, through challenging and stormy times, toward color and light and life. Along the way they find friends to guide and support them, and when the new day dawns, it is full of promise. With gorgeous, richly realized illustrations and immense hope at its heart, Rain Before Rainbows holds out a ray of sunshine for anyone looking for light.
32 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 1, 2020
39 people are currently reading
709 people want to read
About the author
Smriti Prasadam-Halls
163 books74 followersSmriti Prasadam-Halls is an award-winning, internationally best-selling children’s author whose books have been published in more than thirty languages. Her titles include the Publishers Weekly #1 bestseller I Love You Night and Day, illustrated by Alison Brown. Smriti Prasadam-Halls previously worked at the BBC and in children’s publishing and television as a writer and editor for twelve years. She lives in London with her husband and three sons.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 337 reviews
April 30, 2022
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.
We meet a little girl and her fox friend. They are moving from a troubled past to a better future, thus teaching the readers about taking it step-by-step, but never giving up.
Here is a very abbreviated version of the journey that also nicely shows off the art in this book:
The story is told in rhyme and pretty minimalistic, instead letting the art speak for itself. But the message doesn't need any more elaboration.
A very cute and to-the-point little book for young and old readers with a very important lesson about courage, friendship and perseverance as indispensable helpers of hope.
We meet a little girl and her fox friend. They are moving from a troubled past to a better future, thus teaching the readers about taking it step-by-step, but never giving up.
Here is a very abbreviated version of the journey that also nicely shows off the art in this book:
The story is told in rhyme and pretty minimalistic, instead letting the art speak for itself. But the message doesn't need any more elaboration.
A very cute and to-the-point little book for young and old readers with a very important lesson about courage, friendship and perseverance as indispensable helpers of hope.
May 18, 2021
Book Reviewed on www.whisperingstories.com
Rain Before Rainbows is a children’s picture book that I have already read three times. The first time I read through it I marvelled at the beautiful artwork that adorned each page. These full-page illustrations are simply beautiful, they capture the eye with their soft colours and delightful scenes with so much to take in.
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.
However, the third time I noticed the castle on fire which is set before the story begins and I had missed it. This then took the plot in a different direction for me as it then was about a young girl and her fox friend having to travel over mountains, through stormy seas to get away from their home that had been destroyed and finding a new place.
Whichever way you read this book one thing is certain, it truly is amazing. It is comforting, engaging, captivating, and it makes you want to read it over and over again as well as hopefully making children understand that even though there are sometimes dark days in their life that after the dark the light will come.
Rain Before Rainbows is a children’s picture book that I have already read three times. The first time I read through it I marvelled at the beautiful artwork that adorned each page. These full-page illustrations are simply beautiful, they capture the eye with their soft colours and delightful scenes with so much to take in.
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.
However, the third time I noticed the castle on fire which is set before the story begins and I had missed it. This then took the plot in a different direction for me as it then was about a young girl and her fox friend having to travel over mountains, through stormy seas to get away from their home that had been destroyed and finding a new place.
Whichever way you read this book one thing is certain, it truly is amazing. It is comforting, engaging, captivating, and it makes you want to read it over and over again as well as hopefully making children understand that even though there are sometimes dark days in their life that after the dark the light will come.
June 5, 2020
If ever there was a right time for a beautiful, uplifting book like this to come into your life, it’s now. An unnamed girl, who we know nothing about, sets off on a journey with nothing but her friend the fox and they travel through storms, rough seas and mountain ranges to reach a place of safety and light. This is a story of friendship, perseverance and hope – things I think every person needs right now.
Hall’s flowing, rhyming text gives the book a calm aura (because yes, I think books have auras) and her words, combined with Litchfield’s beautiful illustrations make for a truly lovely read. You could stay on one page for ages, spotting all the little details hidden amongst the illustrations. As always, Litchfield’s use of light is perfect and for a story about hope, I think that makes the relationship between the words and pictures even stronger.
It’s not just a simple story either. I have many questions that would be great to unpick and discuss with others. Who is the girl? What is she running from? How did her and the fox come to be friends? Where is it they’ve ended up? But, whilst there are unknown things about this story, I think it’s good that we don’t know much. To me it shows that it doesn’t really matter where she came from or what her name is. It means that anyone can be her. The character in this book could be any one of us and I really love that.
I’ve re-read this multiple times now and each time I can’t help but smile. When the physical copy is out, I shall be buying it for sure!
Hall’s flowing, rhyming text gives the book a calm aura (because yes, I think books have auras) and her words, combined with Litchfield’s beautiful illustrations make for a truly lovely read. You could stay on one page for ages, spotting all the little details hidden amongst the illustrations. As always, Litchfield’s use of light is perfect and for a story about hope, I think that makes the relationship between the words and pictures even stronger.
It’s not just a simple story either. I have many questions that would be great to unpick and discuss with others. Who is the girl? What is she running from? How did her and the fox come to be friends? Where is it they’ve ended up? But, whilst there are unknown things about this story, I think it’s good that we don’t know much. To me it shows that it doesn’t really matter where she came from or what her name is. It means that anyone can be her. The character in this book could be any one of us and I really love that.
I’ve re-read this multiple times now and each time I can’t help but smile. When the physical copy is out, I shall be buying it for sure!
October 20, 2020
Such a lovely and uplifting picture book. The illustrations are just gorgeous! It would be a great addition to any classroom and PSHE lesson about happiness and finding comfort during the uncertainty of covid-19.
September 8, 2020
Very colorful!
Rain Before Rainbows by Smriti Prasadam-Halls is a very colorful and bright children's book. It is written in rhyming verses. Very nice!
Rain Before Rainbows by Smriti Prasadam-Halls is a very colorful and bright children's book. It is written in rhyming verses. Very nice!
December 7, 2021
Despite the blurb's promise, I don't think the book universally hopeful/inspirational. But it will help many children and open-minded, less cynical, adults, I'm sure. The lovely pictures and poetic text signify a potential classic. I hope my GR friends read it so I can see what they think.
March 16, 2021
I loved this book. It feels simple but the message is very important, now more than ever!!
December 26, 2020
This stunning book is a work of art. The words and illustrations work together beautifully. The colors in the illustrations make this book special.
December 28, 2020
With dreamlike artwork in fantastical color combinations, rhyming text showcases the cycles in life from night before day, clouds before sunshine, sowing before reaping, etc. As I was reading this one, I was thinking about how appropriate this book would be as a graduation gift for someone heading off into the world. There will definitely be hard days and difficult work, but we can find that silver lining in the end. The illustrations were done in ink and paint and rendered digitally.
For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!
For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!
November 20, 2020
This is such a lovely and uplifting book for younger children. The illustrations are beautiful, with wonderful colours, and the few words are hopeful and supportive for when times are tough. A very positive little book to share with your young child, or just to read for yourself.
September 14, 2020
Gorgeously illustrated! Beautiful prose!
Grabbed this for free on Kindle so many thanks to the publisher!
Grabbed this for free on Kindle so many thanks to the publisher!
July 9, 2020
Beautiful
A beautifully written book, very poetic and sweet. It would be great to explore in a PSHE lesson. The illustrations are gorgeous, perhaps the most beautiful illustrations I have seen in a while!
A beautifully written book, very poetic and sweet. It would be great to explore in a PSHE lesson. The illustrations are gorgeous, perhaps the most beautiful illustrations I have seen in a while!
July 26, 2020
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 love the simplicity of the story and yet what a powerful message it holds. Through the clever use of rhyming on every double page, we see the girl and fox go through terrible times of uncertainty, having terrible storms and rain, and yet at the end, like with all things in life, when there are bad times they are eventually replaced with good. It’s a great message to share with children, not only during this difficult time but also any time in their life when they are not feeling good. It’s a message to let children (and even adults looking at this) know that better times will come, even if there are bad things happening now, there’s always a cycle to life and just like the book shows, you can’t have a rainbow without first having some rain!
The illustrations are beautiful, very colourful and quite detailed. I am unable to show you any pictures due to this being a digital book, but the cover is a good example of the rest of the images in the book with every double page containing one image of the girl and fox and their adventure. I love the way the animals all look and the way that the expressions of the girl and fox can be clearly seen throughout the story. There is something quite magical about the images, I love the way the sea looks during the storm, the unique way the fish look and seem to bring the sea to life. I also love how detailed some pages are and the beautiful way that the streaks of sunlight are shown. There really is a lot to see in every page and it evokes a lovely atmosphere in the story, I’m sure plenty of children and adults will love looking at this book for the illustrations alone.
I do like this book, the rhyming is just perfect, the story is brilliant and has a great message, and the illustrations are gorgeous and so detailed that I just can’t help but want to look at this book again and again. I would recommend getting this picture book. It’s a great way to show children that things will get better when they feel things are bad and maybe it’s a message that many adults need to see and read too at the moment!
‘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 love the simplicity of the story and yet what a powerful message it holds. Through the clever use of rhyming on every double page, we see the girl and fox go through terrible times of uncertainty, having terrible storms and rain, and yet at the end, like with all things in life, when there are bad times they are eventually replaced with good. It’s a great message to share with children, not only during this difficult time but also any time in their life when they are not feeling good. It’s a message to let children (and even adults looking at this) know that better times will come, even if there are bad things happening now, there’s always a cycle to life and just like the book shows, you can’t have a rainbow without first having some rain!
The illustrations are beautiful, very colourful and quite detailed. I am unable to show you any pictures due to this being a digital book, but the cover is a good example of the rest of the images in the book with every double page containing one image of the girl and fox and their adventure. I love the way the animals all look and the way that the expressions of the girl and fox can be clearly seen throughout the story. There is something quite magical about the images, I love the way the sea looks during the storm, the unique way the fish look and seem to bring the sea to life. I also love how detailed some pages are and the beautiful way that the streaks of sunlight are shown. There really is a lot to see in every page and it evokes a lovely atmosphere in the story, I’m sure plenty of children and adults will love looking at this book for the illustrations alone.
I do like this book, the rhyming is just perfect, the story is brilliant and has a great message, and the illustrations are gorgeous and so detailed that I just can’t help but want to look at this book again and again. I would recommend getting this picture book. It’s a great way to show children that things will get better when they feel things are bad and maybe it’s a message that many adults need to see and read too at the moment!
October 14, 2020
Gorgeously illustrated book that captures the imagination and reassures the reader that they have the tools and abilities to withstand the hard times in life and that there is a brighter future ahead.
June 24, 2020
Awesome book, full of heart-felt meaning. Together, the text and the illustrations are a real treasure.
January 6, 2021
This was voted by my library as one of the best books of 2020. It is beautifully illustrated. Even as an adult, I think it delivers a relevant message.
July 28, 2020
Charming book, lovely illustrations and a great tool to support discussion
4-4.5*
This is a lovely story book aimed at children aged 3 – 7 year olds. An excellent tool for showing children that there is hope even when times are bad and difficult things happen.
‘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.
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 illustrations are beautiful, with lovely details and are very colourful as the cover shows. The animals are beautifully drawn. The girl and fox are ever present and are given clear expressions throughout helping bring the story to life. The images are quite magical and there is such a lot to see in each page, plenty for both children and adults to look at in this book. Many may love it for the illustrations alone.
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.
I would recommend getting this picture book. It’s a great way to show and raise issues with children to help them understand that things will get better when they feel things are bad, a message that adults often need too!
‘Save With Stories’ Campaign
‘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 this free ebook that I have read. It is a wonderful book with which to embrace the campaign. Allowing the reader to focus – not only in these strange times but, indeed, at any time – on weird or difficult situations enabling exploration and discussions. Using the rainbow, now so instantly recognisable, as a symbol of hope.
4-4.5*
This is a lovely story book aimed at children aged 3 – 7 year olds. An excellent tool for showing children that there is hope even when times are bad and difficult things happen.
‘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.
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 illustrations are beautiful, with lovely details and are very colourful as the cover shows. The animals are beautifully drawn. The girl and fox are ever present and are given clear expressions throughout helping bring the story to life. The images are quite magical and there is such a lot to see in each page, plenty for both children and adults to look at in this book. Many may love it for the illustrations alone.
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.
I would recommend getting this picture book. It’s a great way to show and raise issues with children to help them understand that things will get better when they feel things are bad, a message that adults often need too!
‘Save With Stories’ Campaign
‘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 this free ebook that I have read. It is a wonderful book with which to embrace the campaign. Allowing the reader to focus – not only in these strange times but, indeed, at any time – on weird or difficult situations enabling exploration and discussions. Using the rainbow, now so instantly recognisable, as a symbol of hope.
November 7, 2020
This picture book is so visually stunning with the images and the words working so well together.
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.
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?
It’s particularly useful at the moment with COVID. The author released this book earlier than intended and published it as a free PDF to help children struggling through this turbulent year - I think that makes me like the book even more?!
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.
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?
It’s particularly useful at the moment with COVID. The author released this book earlier than intended and published it as a free PDF to help children struggling through this turbulent year - I think that makes me like the book even more?!
September 28, 2020
This was such a beautiful book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading to a 4 year old. A touching and colourful story of courage and change for a girl and her companion fox who travel together from a sorrowful past, through challenging and stormy times, toward color and light and life. The story was a bit heavy but the beauty of the art helped tell an important story, it was very wonderful to read. With special thanks to Walker Books Publishers for sending me a copy of this book.
November 7, 2020
A lovely bright and colourful book about hope. A great way to encourage positivity and talk about the good in things. This story would be great to use within a PSHE lesson thinking about friendship, hope and how we can stay positive. The book may be particularly important and useful at the moment with coronavirus and the worry this may be causing a lot of children. I think the book could be read in any class but it is probably best suited to KS1 and lower KS2.
September 11, 2020
Such a beautiful book! The illustrations are perfect and the words can be uplifting to not only children but adults as well.
Loved that the author dedicated it to her sister. It hit all the feels that I have for my sister. 💕
I read it as an ebook, but I would 100% purchase the physical copy for my collection at home.
Loved that the author dedicated it to her sister. It hit all the feels that I have for my sister. 💕
I read it as an ebook, but I would 100% purchase the physical copy for my collection at home.
July 13, 2021
I openly admit I picked this one up solely because of the cover art...which, as anyone can see, is freaking
gorgeous
!! (and also because I knew the inside art would be just as by default). I didn't expect the story, both simple and deep, to match. Don't be fooled by the fact it's a picture book aimed at young kiddos. This one hits right in the feels! Five stars!!
December 12, 2020
Another wonderful pictures book!
I especially liked the bright colours in this one and the poetic text.
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.
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.
Highly recommend!
I especially liked the bright colours in this one and the poetic text.
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.
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.
Highly recommend!
March 25, 2021
Absolutely fell in love with the illustrations but as soon as I opened the book and saw a scripture in the publication information I fell in love with the book. This book is an uplifting book that presents the idea that sometimes there is "rain before rainbows, clouds before sun, and night before daybreak". Sometimes when we are weathering the storms in life, we forget that after the storm we can find blessings and that during the storm we have support systems we can lean on, that guide us, and give us strength and courage to keep going.
December 11, 2020
A perfect book for now. Just gorgeous.
January 8, 2021
Delightful!!!! Absolute perfection! A book full of promise, a book full of light!
April 14, 2021
Stunning artwork. This was a lovely book to read together and the artwork was fun to discuss. Lovely. 💕
April 14, 2021
Good artistic design 👌.
January 5, 2022
This book is just stunning!
January 26, 2022
Reviews cannot describe the visual and textual perfection of this picture book. ^^
Displaying 1 - 30 of 337 reviews