Pitter, Patter, Poetry... Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault

With no intent AT ALL to post this today, I woke to the grayness of spring rain with a forecast for it to continue through the next few days. Among the pile of poetry books I intend to feature in coming weeks, the cover facing me from the top on the nearest pile this morning was:

LISTEN TO THE RAIN, written by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault, with illustrations by James Endicott.

Henry Holt & Company, 1988

That's right, an early  book from the magical duo who brought us CHICKA-CHICKA-BOOM-BOOM.

So, I picked it up, read it again for the umpteenth time, and decided to share the text here, now.

My glance at the weather map indicates that there are multi-millions of us facing some  drizzly or stormy gray days. For all of our sakes, I'll share the deceptively simple text here, in praise of it's rhythm, rhyme, and imagery. My praise extends to the design and art of the spreads. it also celebrates the cycle of rain patterns, offering an optimism amid the grayness. Please, let the words inspire you to hold the book in your own hands and share it, sooner rather than  later.

LISTEN TO THE RAIN

Copyright Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault

Listen to the rain, 

the whisper of the rain,

the slow, soft sprinkle,

the drip-drop tinkle, 

the first wet whisper of the rain.

Listen to the rain, 

the singing of the rain,

the tiptoe pitter-patter,

the splish and splash and splatter,

the steady sound,

the singing of the rain.

Listen to the rain, 

the roaring pouring rain,

the hurly-burly, 

topsy-turvy,

lashing, gnashing teeth of the rain,

the lightning-flashing

thunder-crashing

sounding pounding roaring rain,

leaving all outdoors a muddle,

a mishy mushy muddle puddle.

Listen to the quietude,

the silence and the solitude

of after-rain,

the dripping, dripping, dropping,

the slowly, slowly stopping

the fresh

wet

silent

after-time

of rain.