Abigail and the restless raindrop

Matthew Cunningham draws on conversations with his curious daughter, Abigail, to produce a picture book, perfect for curious young minds.

Abigail looks out at the rain and starts wondering where raindrops come from. The answer: ‘from the clouds’, doesn’t completely satisfy her curiosity and she asks, ‘How did they get there?’ In explaining, Cunningham personifies a drop of water that has big dreams and really wants to fly but then when it’s missing its home, comes back down to its lake.

Sarah Wilkins has crafted beautiful illustrations with bright colours and details to hold the attention of any young child. The raindrop has been given a face adding to its personality.

This book does not use the technical terms as in ‘evaporation’ or ‘condensation’, and is not intended to be a complete explanation of the water cycle. However, for young children who are always asking ‘How’ or ‘Why’, this book is a fun informative story to satisfy curiosity as well as entertain.

This book is also about having big dreams and realising the possibilities. Abigail asks, ‘Can all water drops fly?’ Her mum answers in the affirmative, if they dream big enough.

Title: Abigail and the restless raindrop

Author: Matthew Cunningham

Illustrator: Sarah Wilkins

Publisher: Penguin Random House NZ

ISBN: 9780143774495

RRP: $19.99

Format: paperback

Date of Publication: 2 July 2020

Ages: 3-7

Advisory warnings: None

Reviewed by Nova Gibson, Librarian, Massey Primary School, Auckland

How are you recommending this book? Highly Recommended

You can buy this book here