Rain Before Rainbows

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A girl and her companion fox travel together from a place of loss and despair, through uncertain times, towards the hope of colour, light and life. Along the way, they find friends to guide and support them. Together, they build a glorious future and discover there is a way out of the darkness, into the light of the rainbow.

English:

• Look at the title ‘Rain Before Rainbows’. What do you think it means?
• Use the title as the starting point for your own story. What might it be about?
• Look at the quote from the Sunday Times on the back of the book. Could you think of more quotes to recommend this book (or other books that you enjoy)?
• Look inside the book and on the cover to find words that you may be unfamiliar with (e.g. courageous, decisions, eloquent, irrepressible). Can you find out the meaning and / or write your own definitions?
• Make a list of all the rhyming words in the book. Can you think of other words that rhyme with them?
• Use the two main characters in your own narrative story. What might happen to them?
• Write some speech between the two characters.
• Watch this video showing the author talking about books and how they can inspire us. What questions would you like to ask her?

• Record your own ‘read along’ version of this story. Here is one example:

Science:

• Create a report that teaches people about rainbows. What special conditions are required for us to be able to see a rainbow?

Computing:

• Use publishing software to create a poster that shows the message ‘Rain Before Rainbows’ or ‘Hope over Fear’.

Design Technology:

• Design a shelter that can protect people from the rain.

Art:

• Examine the illustrations and think about how the illustrator has created images of different types of weather. Can you make pictures to show the weather?
• Make pictures that show the same location in different weather conditions.
• Look at the illustration on the page with the text ‘Dreams that are hopeful. Decisions to make.’ Could you make a similar picture that shows two characters sleeping and the dreams they might be having?

Geography:

• Record the weather conditions every day for a week / month.
• Find out the weather conditions in your area for the next few days and create your own weather report.
• Make a map that shows the journey the characters take throughout the book.

PSHE:

• The story mentions dreams and journeys. What dreams do you have for the future? What journeys would you like to take?
• What can we do when we are having a ‘dark day’? How can we help somebody who has ‘worries creeping in’?