Tap Tap Boom Boom

In toe-tapping, jazz-chant verse, author, bookseller, and PW blogger Bluemle (How Do You Wokka-Wokka?) writes about the way a sudden thunderstorm "makes friends/ of strangers." At the story's start, two boys in a playground gaze through iron railings at a girl in a yellow dress hurrying to keep up with her father. On an ordinary day she'd disappear into the crowd, but when the rain starts pelting down, the boys, the girl and her father, and half a dozen others dash for the subway station: "Feet wetter?/ You'd better/ go down/ underground, / where the water/can't getcha./ You betcha." Over photographic images of subway fixtures, Karas (The Apple Orchard Riddle) draws people chatting, sharing pizza, and shrinking away as their dogs shake themselves off, balancing the force of the storm with the warmth of city-dwellers sharing an unexpected break in their day. Bluemle's story unfolds on a scale just right for preschoolers, with plenty of hullaballoo, subtle attention to the senses, and an affirmation of the way misfortune can lead to small miracles. Ages 3-7. Author's agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Illustrator's agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (Mar.)

PreS-Gr 2--An enormous raindrop opposite the title page introduces readers to the reflected setting--an urban playground, seen from above. The perspective shifts to a child's-eye view on the opening spread as two friends gaze through the wrought iron gates at the ominous clouds. Karas's winsome, multicultural caricatures inhabit a neighborhood that appears lifelike due to his use of photographs for buildings and subway details. As children and adults dash between the showers and thunderbolts to the safety of the underground station, Bluemle's taut, clever verse propels the plot: "Feet wetter?/You'd better/go down/underground, /where the water/can't getcha./You betcha." Down below, dogs shake out their fur on everyone, a bagpiper and drummer serenade the crowd, pizza is divided, and umbrellas are shared--the storm forms a community. Although the weather is a threatening presence, the underlying cozy mood is set by the warm, creamy backgrounds that stage the gouache, pencil, and collage scenes. When the group emerges back up into the daylight, a dazzling surprise awaits them. The titular refrain--printed in a bigger, bolder font--offers multiple possibilities for audience participation as the story progresses. This upbeat rendition of a common experience will have universal appeal. Don't wait for a rainy day to share the fun.--Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library