After the Rain

Gorgeously illustrated and brimming with accessible science, this joyful picture book explores the wonders of the natural world after it rains. Puddle-hopping optional!

What happens once the rain stops? To a young child out exploring with her grandmother and dog, the world smells of summer green and turtles and warm bricks. That after-rain smell, known as petrichor, signals to seeds, You can come up now! Bees buzz out of their hives and sip from puddles. Butterflies desert their leafy umbrellas. The rain itself becomes water vapor, which forms clouds. And not everyone ventures up and out. With the sun’s return, worms wriggle deep down in search of shelter while fungi converse with the tangled roots of trees. Illustrated with the sparkling glow of a busy landscape after rain, spreads include relevant “words to say after the rain,” such as evaporation and humidity, in a form that provides context for the meaning. This deceptively simple and imminently shareable picture book by a leading scientist introduces key concepts with energy, gentle humor, and age-appropriate language, inspiring curious readers of all ages to pull on rain boots and beeline for the door.

Eleanor Spicer Rice, PhD, is an entomologist and the author of many nonfiction books, including the three titles in the Your Hidden Life series: Unseen Jungle: The Microbes That Secretly Control Our World; Your Pets’ Secret Lives: The Truth Behind Your Pets’ Wildest Behaviors; and Undercover Conversations: Eavesdrop on the Natural World. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her husband, sons, dogs, hermit crabs, an assortment of spiders and insects, and a small but valiant flock of homing pigeons.

Fiona Lee is the illustrator of Can’t Stop Kissing That Baby by K. L. Going, Bark Ship Bonnie by Stephanie Staib, Ways to Say I Love You by Madeleine Cook, and other acclaimed picture books. Originally from Vermont, she now lives on Martha's Vineyard with her husband and two children.