Ros Moriarty (text) Balarinji (illus.) Summer Rain, Allen & Unwin, July 2015, 24pp., $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760112110
Summer Rain is a picture book capturing northern Australia during the wet season and bringing the unique landscape alive through bursts of colour and beautiful indigenous artwork.
The picture book unfolds across the period of a day; the reader enters the story to the waking of the land and travels through until sunset falls and the moon arrives. Each phase of the day is highlighted through subtle changes in colour and texture capturing the shifting light and mood.
A cast of Australian animals feature across the pages from turtles to lizards and the use of lyrical language captures the animals’ joy as the world awakens in the rain, washing away the days of heat. The language uses verbs to help illustrate the new flurry of activity and powerful imagery is created through short simple sentences, ‘rain splatters on dusty ground’.
Summer Rain is a beautifully put together book, combining rich language and artwork to celebrate nature.
Reviewed by Maria H Alessandrino
