The Falling Raindrop

This debut, the collaborative project of two advertising executives, has a crisp, carefully produced feel, and it delivers its message with razor-sharp effectiveness. The illustrations are small vignettes that appear in the center of cream-colored pages, forcing readers to pay attention. At the center of the story is a pale blue cartoon raindrop. He spends most of the story plummeting toward Earth, as streaks and droplets peel off him, demonstrating his speed. Initially, he delights in his flight (“I’m alive!” he cries, with an open smile. “He felt like he was flying as he whizzed down through the clouds”), but his joy soon turns to fear that he’s hurtling to his doom. And in the process: “He missed out on the fun of skimming through the clouds. He missed out on the joy of riding on the wind.” It’s a metaphor for the way so many adults live: fearful and worried about death. Do children worry this way, too? Some do, and they’ll take comfort in the unexpected fate of the raindrop. Ages 3–6. (Mar.)