Sunday Rain

An imaginative adventure that helps a new place feel like home

Elliott has just moved into a new house. He spends his days with his fictional friends, immersed in a book. When an inviting Sunday rain gathers the local kids to play in the puddles, Elliott longs to join in, but he's too shy to go outside. Soon, Elliott discovers that new friendships are like a new book--you just have to plunge into the adventure.

While a storm rages on the other side of the ship curtains at his bedroom window, Elliott buries himself in a book. A princess endlessly fights a dragon and a watercolor sea keeps 'swallowing the royal boat, ' with Elliott at the helm. Later, he peeks out shyly at two puddle-jumping children on the sidewalk. 'Make some friends while I finish unpacking, ' his mother urges. He joins them with a toy boat. Soon the S.S. Elliott is life-size, the puddles are an ocean and the dragon is a kite. Elliott's new house feels like home.--The New York Times Book Review, 8 Picture Books about Imagination and Identity