Book details
Lois Ehlert - Author
A rainstorm turns discarded scraps drifting in water into ‘rain fish’: playful shapes made from things such as newspaper, shells, feathers, cardboard and leaves.
Get to know the rain fish that come to life during rainstorms in this gorgeous exploration of nature with vibrant collage artwork from the Caldecott Honor winning illustrator of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. When blue sky turns gray and it rains all day, sometimes rain fish come out and play. They swim among discards and debris. Do you see them, too? Or is it just me? Through lyrical text and her incomparable mixed-media collage illustrations, Lois Ehlert introduces readers to rain fish the varied, colorful, and unique little collections of materials that float along on streams of rain water during storms. From a scrap of newspaper with a seashell eye and feather smile to a piece of cardboard with an orange peel eye and a leaf for a fin, Ehlert s rain fish come in all shapes and sizes. Complete with an author s note explaining how Ehlert collected the found materials she used to make the book over the course of a year, Rain Fish is a spirited celebration of imagination, creativity, and observing the world in your own way and it invites you to discover your own rain fish.
Book Analysis
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Sign in for personalised guidanceHow the book presents it: The book presents imaginative looking and making as a playful way to see the world.
Talk about: What details make a collection of scraps look like a fish to you?
How the book presents it: The note gives a practical glimpse of how the artwork’s materials were gathered.
Talk about: Which materials in the collages can you identify?
Its collage-and-rhyme approach makes noticing shapes and materials central. The author’s note also shares how Ehlert gathered the found objects used in the book.
The imagined fish are made from discards and debris floating in rainwater. Their playful presentation may offer a gentle way to notice what rain carries along.
Which found materials would you combine to make a rain fish, and what might help you recognise its shape?
Pause over the collage details and invite the reader to spot shapes or materials before reading the rhymes aloud; afterwards, try making a fish from safe, clean found objects.
Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.
Rain Fish: with audio recording - Lois Ehlert - Google Books
Limited information
Checked: 1 October 2026.
Relevant to: Imagination and observation; Making the collages
Rain Fish by Lois Ehlert | Open Library
Limited information
Checked: 1 October 2026.
Relevant to: Imagination and observation
Benefits, discussion questions and reading approaches are suggestions. Your knowledge of your child remains part of the decision.
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