FICTION

My Rainy Day Rocket Ship

by Markette Sheppard (text) & illus. by Charly Palmer
S. & S./Denene Millner Bks. May 2020. 32p. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781534461772.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 1–Boredom is the mother of invention in this playful story. Using rhyming and near-rhyming text, Sheppard tells the story of a young boy who plans an imaginary voyage to outer space. His fond parents come to cheer on the launch, and then it’s off to bed for the little one. The verse brims with childlike enthusiasm. A piece of stereotyping is the one misstep; the child borrows “tools from Dad” and “Mom’s old dishrag,” as if housework is exclusively the mother’s domain. Thick expressionist lines and swirls in Palmer’s illustrations create a lively effect, particularly in images of the boy, who has dark skin, and his family.
VERDICT A fun choice for bedtime or library storytime, marred by a moment of unfortunate gender stereotyping.
Reviewed by Sarah Stone, San Francisco Public Library , May 01, 2020

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