• Home
  • Style Guides
  • Blog
  • Author Index
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Subscribe
READING STYLE GUIDE

Rhythm on the Rain

3/15/2017

1 Comment

 

Harper and the Scarlet Umbrella by Carrie Burrell ill by Laura Ellen Anderson

"Once there was a girl who...heard songs on the wind, rhythms on the rain, and hope in the beat of a butterfly's wings."
Picture
Check out the cover: a girl with a cat perched atop her head and holding aloft a red umbrella as she sails through the skies. It is evident that readers are about to experience a delightful adventure. Carrie Burnell's Harper and the Scarlet Umbrella certainly lives up to that expectation. Meet Harper a girl with a rare musical gift who lives with her Great Aunt Sassy, chief dressmaker for the Dutch Opera House. When work takes Aunt Sassy away for a few days she wishes Harper "a weekend as wonderful as you" and advises her to take the Scarlet Umbrella as protection against the rainshower. Harper locates the umbrella, but to her dismay the cat Midnight is nowhere to be found. Where can her pet be? Tiny paw prints tracking across the book's pages provide a clue. She learns that along with Midnight, cats throughout the city are missing. ​With assistance from the magical umbrella, she sets out to find these felines who have mysteriously disappeared.
Her friends Liesel, Ferdie, Nate and his wolf named Smoke arm themselves with musical instruments and join together in the search. "Keep your instruments with you. If anyone approaches, sound the alarm by playing three sharp notes. Music will be our secret signal." After locating a forbidden door, passing through The Library of Long-Forgotten Music, and venturing into the darkness, the young detectives discover a multitude of cats playing tiny orchestra instruments. They learn that The Wild Conductor has captured the city's cats and created a cat orchestra. Harper and her companions use the magic of the scarlet umbrella combined with the power of music to free the felines from the spell that holds them captive. Anderson's illustrations enhance the charming fairytale-like setting. Cats, music, mystery and magic combine to create lyrical storytelling. The story's conclusion hints that Harper will have further adventures. Yes please. ​

Rainy Day Lexicon

This is so clever! What a marvelous way to expand rainy day vocabulary beyond "cats and dogs". The next time that the promise showers grab your umbrella, perhaps a scarlet hue, and try one of these intriguing precipitation descriptions.
​
Summer Dew: a light rain that barely touches you.
Sea Mist: a soft rain that emerges from the air like a fog.
Heartbeat: an even rain, steady as your heart.
​Cloudburst: a downpour that soaked you to the skin.
Icefall: a hard rain that struck like hail.
Thunder Break: when the sky was alive with storms.
Picture

Companion videos

Accompany this story of a magical umbrella, rain showers, orchestra instruments, and a multitude of cats with three classic musical videos.
1 Comment
Nocturnals World
3/21/2017 10:59:06 am

I've always enjoyed the ambience that a good rainstorm brings, and the cover of this book brings back the adventure that can lurk behind a gloomy day. Looks great!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author/Illustrator Index
    Get the latest updates delivered directly to you inbox:

    powered by TinyLetter

    Category

    All
    Activity Books
    Adventure
    Alphabet Books
    Animals
    Anthology
    Art
    Asian
    Audiobook
    Author-interview
    Author-profile
    Awards
    Bilingual
    Biography
    Black Lives
    Board Books
    Book Awards
    Book-club
    Book Stores
    Book Trailers
    Classroom Connections
    Comics
    Coming Of Age
    Cosplay
    Creativity
    Diversity
    Early Readers
    Fairy Tale
    Family
    Fantasy
    Food
    Friendship
    Girls
    Grahic Novel
    Halloween
    Historical Fiction
    Horror
    Humor
    Immigration
    Informational Books
    Latinx
    LGBTQ
    Library Activities
    Literacy
    Magical Realism
    Maker
    Math
    Memoir
    Middle Grade
    Music
    Mystery
    Mythology
    Nonfiction
    Own Voices
    Picture Book
    Poetry
    Prose-and-comic
    Read Aloud
    Reading
    Reading Writing Connection
    Realistic Fiction
    Romance
    Self Acceptance
    Series
    Social Issues
    Sports
    STEM
    Storytelling
    Texas Connection
    The Margin Project
    Wordless
    YA Lit

    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015

    Barbara Moon

    I like talking about books and  interesting ideas. I like thinking about how books affect my life. Not particularly interested in giving out stars or in rating books. 

    Audio Publishers Association
    2013, - present  Audies judge 
    American Library Association Book Awards and Lists 
    ​2017 YALSA Award Nominating Committee
    2016 Excellence in Nonfiction 
    2014 Margaret Edwards Award
    2012 Odyssey Awards.  
    2009, 2010, 2011 Great Graphic Novels for Teens.

    Professional Reader
    Picture
    Frequently Auto-Approved

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.