Children love rain, and in many parts of our country the rainy season is just starting. Here are some book recommendations to help share the joy and science of rainy days. So pick up a few of these books at your local library or bookstore, curl up on the couch with a cup of camomille tea or hot chocolate, and enjoy!

One of my all time favorite rain books is The Yellow Umbrella by Dong Il Sheen and Jae-Soo Liu. This wordless book follows children as they walk to school in the rain with their umbrellas, the accompaning CD plays music that matches what is happening in the book. Gorgeous illustrations and music make for a relaxing experience, and can spark conversation on what rain sounds like, the different types of beats that would play when we are moving slow and fast, and what happens to sound when something moves away from us.

Where Does the Butterfly Go When It Rains? by May Garelick explores what butterflies do in the rain. Children love pondering that question which you can expand to other animals, and then go on a rain walk to try to find insect or animal hiding places. You can, also, look for who comes out in the rain, such as worms, snails, and slugs.

Down Comes the Rain (Let's Read-and-Find- Out Science 2) by Franklyn M. Branley and James Graham Hale looks at the science of rain. For more on the rain cycle read Cloud Dance by Thomas Locker. Rain by Robert Kalan, also, explains the rain cycle using simple text and beautiful illustrations that invoke the feeling of rain.

Peter Spier's Rain features beautiful wordless images as it tells the story of children playing in the rain and is a great inspiration for your own rain splashing and stomping adventure. Rain Drop Splash by Alvin Tressalt includes the sounds rain makes, as does What Does the Rain Play by Nancy Carlstrom and Listen to the Rain by Bill Martin. After reading these books take some time to listen to the rain, and make your own rain sounds using materials around your house.

Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema and Rain Player by David Wisneiwski look at the importance of rain to traditional cultures, and would be great conversation starters for how rain impacts people around the world and helps to grow our food.

The last book is Rainbabies by Laura Krauss Melmed and Jim LaMarche. It is one of the most beautifully illustrated and told picture books around, and tells the story of a couple who wants a baby more than anything. One rainy night they find a basketfull of tiny babies. I will leave it there and let you read about the adventures that follow with your child.

These books will help bring warmth to even the rainiest day so have fun exploring rain with your child!