When the rain comes by Alma Fullerton. Illus. by Kim La Fave
A wonderful story of resilience as a child shines through an event so powerful that her world is upturned.
Malini wakes one morning, an important morning when she, for the first time, will help plant the rice seedlings for the next crop, a crop the Sri Lankan village depends on. The bullock driver stops and hands Malini the reins to hold while he is away. She stares at this large beast, as he snorts and shakes his head. Suddenly the wind whips up, the sky darkens, birds take cover, and rain starts to fall in sheets headed toward the village. She has been told to stay with the ox but is terrified by the sound and strength of the falling rain. The bullock is frightened too, the water is now at his knees. Mailini’s mother calls to her to come to the shelter of the house. But she is concerned for the bullock and his load. She tugs hard on the reins, urging the animal to follow her. Eventually he does, and she leads him up the hill to Baba’s barn. Here she closes the door behind them and takes off the yolk and releases the animal from the cart. They are sheltered from the rain and the wind, but the barn creaks and the wind howls, the ox stomping and snorting at the devastation outside. Malini knows that she must calm the beast. She comes in close and whispers to him, stroking his flanks and calming him. They wait for the storm to pass, the wind no longer making the walls creak, the rain no longer pounding the roof.
She leads the bullock out of the barn and is gathered into her mother’s arms, the villagers crowding around her.
This lovely story of showing strength and fortitude in the face of disaster will resonate with all younger readers. They will have seen footage on various media of children in disastrous situations and will sympathise with this young girl and the choices she makes. The size of the ox will daunt readers, the illustrations showing clearly how big it is in relation to Malini, its size making her decision even more admirable.
The illustrations are memorable, from the huge bullock on the cover, the rain coming in sheets, the ox being urged on by the little girl, the rain falling across the page. La Fave likes to capture moments in time and this book reflects this, as the rain comes down and water rises in the village. Information about Kim La Fave can be found here.
Award winning author and illustrator, Fullerton and Fave live in Canada. They are both interested in stories of children around the world. This one about life in Sri Lanka is a wonderful look at the life of a child very different from our own and will give our readers a different perspective of life in a different community. The reliance on rice and the hands-on work of planting the seeds as well as their need for an ox to carry the load, will intrigue younger readers, and the look at the devastation the monsoon can bring, will add another level of interest.
At the end of the book is an informative page relating more information about Sri Lanka and its reliance on the annual monsoon.
Themes: Monsoon, Sri Lanka, Oxen, Strength, Resilience, Flood.
Fran Knight