The Rainbabies

February 16, 2004
A childless couple finds a dozen tiny rainbabies and cares for them until their real mother arrives to claim her offspring. Calling the writing "flawless" and the paintings "equally masterful" in a starred review, PW
said, "This genuinely touching book is a winner in every respect." Ages 3-8.

September 21, 1992
At a time when many supposedly new titles turn out to be retellings of familiar fairy tales, it's invigorating to find real creativity at work. In a stunning debut, Melmed combines standard fairy tale devices (a wish granted by magic; a series of trials to prove worthiness; virtue rewarded, etc.) in a wholly original story featuring the most fetching cast of little ones since the Dionne quintuplets. Melmed's writing is flawless, her storyline clean and unaffected: a childless couple finds a dozen tiny rainbabies in the grass after a moonshower, takes them home and tenderly cares for them until the babies' real mother arrives to claim her offspring and reward the devoted husband and wife. LaMarche's (Mandy) paintings are equally masterful. Whether portraying the couple's delight with their unexpected charges, or pecking in at the row of sleeping wee ones nestled snugly in a drawer, the artist's transcendent watercolors glow with a warm inner light that comes as much from the heart as from the brush. A winner in every respect, this genuinely touching book is guaranteed to become a favorite. Ages 6-up.