Pistes d'exploration

Before reading the book aloud, talk about rainy days. Make a group list of words that you might expect to hear when reading a book about a rainy day.

After reading the book aloud, discuss how the author used different words to explain how the rain was pouring, the wind was blowing, etc. Highlight the phrases that appeal to you.

Notice the rhyming sections in the text.

Act out the story. As the book is read a second time, join in with the repeat line “and red galoshes.”

Write a poem about a windy/rainy/snowy day. Use expressive language as modelled in the book.

Talk about rainy days before reading the book. Make a group list of words that you might expect to hear when reading a book about a rainy day.

After reading the book aloud, compare the expressions used in the book with those on your list. Add a column to your group list and write down the expressions used in the book beside corresponding word..

Act out the story. As the book is read a second time, join in with the repeat line “and red galoshes.”

Write a poem about a windy, rainy or snowy day. Include your favourite colourful outdoor clothing, and use expressive language, with the book as a model. Illustrate your poem.

Red Is Best, Puddles, A Flock of Shoes

Mots-clés

Picture book , Poetry , clothing , everyday life , imagination , recurrent language , red (colour) , weather

Commentaire descriptif

A girl, a boy and their dog enjoy a series of real and imaginary adventures during the course of a blustery walk to Grandma’s house. Using one brief phrase per page, the language plays with evocative words and rhyme to portray the children’s experiences: “Leaves let go for me to throw,” “Kite tails swooping, dancing looping,” “downpipe drumbeat, rain on my street.” Light yet confident lines characterize these deft and charming illustrations. A subtle colour palette provides the perfect foil for the red galoshes that appear in every image. Young readers will engage with dramatic scenes, such as when the children fly over their neighbourhood, or when an umbrella becomes a boat, floating though flooded streets. When they are rescued by a bubble-filled bathtub, the galoshes serve as paddles. Dry land awaits them with “Woodfire hisses, Grandma’s kisses,” and the stormy adventure comes to a cozy close. This is an excellent read aloud book for enjoying the power and rhythm of poetic constructs and the images they can generate—on the page and in the mind’s eye.