IT'S RAINING CATS AND FROGS / ¡LLUEVE GATOS Y RANAS!

It is raining so hard “it’s raining cats and frogs,” prompting choices about what to wear and do in the showery outdoors.

The dual English/Spanish text offers choices for the appropriate garb. Each question is asked. “What do you wear in the rain? / ¿Como te vistes para salir en la lluvia?” In the background, Long provides an array of choices—here a sweater, a dress, a raincoat and a jacket—allowing children to participate. Text and illustrations continue to interact for boots (cowboy, hiking, snow) and hats (woolen, cowboy, formal), showing a variety of selections next to the correct rain hat and boots. Comical illustrations present what look like construction-paper cutouts of a Caucasian boy and girl with round faces and thoughtful eyes. Cats and frogs playing in the puddles and surrounded by large raindrops beckon the two kids to follow suit. (Cat owners will get a wry chuckle out of this.) In a final scene, the boy reads a book, and the girl enjoys her tablet, their wet things scattered on the floor. The 36 vocabulary words on the back cover are useful for bilingual learners, but it’s too bad the alternate choices in the illustrations were not labeled for additional opportunities.

A playful, useful outing.