Boom Boom

An ethnically diverse classroom of children hears the "BOOM BOOM!" of a thunderstorm. They explore outside as the last raindrops "drip drip"; which leads to puddle-jumping ("splash! splash!"). The rhyming pattern--with one or two onomatopoeic words per image--continues as the seasons progress ("crunch crunch" of leaves and apples in the fall). Authentically childlike emotion is conveyed by the mixed-media art.

A thunderstorm's "BOOM BOOM" instigates a riot of onomatopoeia knit into narrative. The story opens in an ethnically diverse classroom of children, one of whom (a little boy) is scared by the storm. A classmate notices that he is frightened and reassuringly takes his hand when the class goes outside to explore the world after the storm. Authentically childlike emotion and characterization is portrayed through the mixed-media art, since the text is limited to one or two words per image; "BOOM BOOM" is followed by "Flash! Flash!" -- and then the storm clears and the "drip drip" of the last raindrops gives way to the "splash! splash!" of exuberant puddle-jumping. Subsequent pages continue the rhyming pattern as seasons progress ("crunch crunch" of both the leaves underfoot and apples in the fall). One effective spread reads simply, "silent," and shows the two new friends in a blank, snowy landscape. This fearless use of white space underscores the pictures' graphic power and Chodos-Irvine's command of pattern and color. Hear! hear! to