ALA Booklist (Sun Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2000)

A rainstorm brings the city to a cacophonous halt in Shannon's spirited, beautifully illustrated new work. "On Saturday morning, the rain came down." It makes the chickens squawk, which makes the cat yowl, the dog bark, the man yell, his baby cry, and his wife shout. The chaos grows, out of the house and into the streets. Just as it seems a riot will ensue, the rain stops, and the crowd gradually untangles. The book ends in the backyard where it all began--with husband, wife, and baby picnicking serenely next to snoozing animals. The brief text is well paced and filled with words that build the story's tension and noise. But it's the colorful painted spreads that will most interest children. Wild, detailed street scenes, filled with richly drawn characters and shifting perspectives, show the absurdity and humor in each incident that contributes to the larger chaos. Children will return to these scenes of raucous upheaval and sigh with relief when calm is restored.

Horn Book (Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2001)

When the rain starts falling, a whole neighborhood is soon honking, bickering, and snapping at one another. "And still, the rain came down." Humorous details in the artwork relieve the mood of increasing crankiness, and calm and goodwill are finally restored when the rain stops and the sun comes out. Want to settle down an overly rambunctious group? Let them blow off steam with this satisfyingly circular story.

Kirkus Reviews

The squabbles caused by a brief shower on a busy street turn to smiles under the ensuing rainbow in this picture-book mini-drama from the author of No, David! (1998). Plunked by the first few drops, some chickens squawk, exciting a cat whose yowls make a dog bark, which makes a man yell, which wakes up a baby . . . and so on, until traffic is jammed, horns are honking, store owners are out on the sidewalk bickering, and an awkward shopper knocks over a fruit stand. Then the rain stops, the sun comes out, bringing a rainbow, and just like that everyone's annoyance melts away and life is sweeter. Using a bright palette and making small details and facial expressions stand out, Shannon creates a gleaming, rain-washed neighborhood of gently caricatured residents, all of whom fall into conventional gender roles but convey the episode's moods, changeable as the weather, with theatrical flair. The squabbles caused by a brief shower on a busy street turn to smiles under the ensuing rainbow in this picture-book mini-drama from the author of No, David! (1998). Plunked by the first few drops, some chickens squawk, exciting a cat whose yowls make a dog bark, which makes a man yell, which wakes up a baby . . . and so on, until traffic is jammed, horns are honking, store owners are out on the sidewalk bickering, and an awkward shopper knocks over a fruit stand. Then the rain stops, the sun comes out, bringing a rainbow, and just like that everyone's annoyance melts away and life is sweeter. Using a bright palette and making small details and facial expressions stand out, Shannon creates a gleaming, rain-washed neighborhood of gently caricatured residents, all of whom fall into conventional gender roles but convey the episode's moods, changeable as the weather, with theatrical flair. Broader, perhaps, but less refreshing in the end than Karen Hesse's lyrical Come On, Rain! (1999). Save it for a rainy day. (Picture book. 5-7)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Raindrops set off a chain reaction of temper tantrums, but a sudden break in the clouds makes the bad moods melt. A series of isolated vignettes begins with a noisy, muddy dog that aggravates its owner, so """"the man yelled at the dog and woke up the baby.... The dog barked louder. And still, the rain came down."""" Outside, a taxi driver beeps at a stopped truck, and in the next frame, the truck driver argues back. One by one, shop owners collide with pedestrians as tension accumulates, all to the refrain, """"And still, the rain came down."""" After this series of intense close-ups, Shannon (No, David!) gives a bird's-eye view of the whole scene: small-town storefronts, bumper-to-bumper traffic and irritable people. But in the next spread, he swings down to street level and captures the moment that """"the rain stopped! And so did the noise."""" The sunshine changes everything, and a second sequence of highly detailed paintings revisits each of the now-cooperative characters. Shannon expertly uses vertiginous angles as he builds suspense, then calms things down with a set of subdued portraits and a view of a quiet afternoon picnic. However, unlike Charlotte Zolotow's similarly conceived The Quarreling Book, which took a child's point of view, here the action is primarily among adults and may not hold readers' attention for repeated readings. Ages 3-up. (Oct.)

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3-This deceptively simple story showcases Shannon's quirky humor and offbeat illustrations. A summer storm provokes a series of unpleasant interactions. From the chickens, cat, and dog whose squabbling results in a man yelling and waking the baby to an altercation between shopkeepers and an eventual traffic tie-up, the rain sets off a chain reaction of misunderstandings, mishaps, and messes. Yet when the rain suddenly stops and a rainbow appears, folks find ways to mend fences and make the best of things. Engaging details and intersecting events make this story work. Shannon's writing flows well, creating a sense of inevitability as the action snowballs. The accompanying paintings have a vaguely retro look, with characters clothed in `50s-style apparel. Each character, however briefly introduced or described, has a distinct personality, although none have names. Teachers and parents could use this book to discuss sequencing, weather, manners, or even community helpers, but kids will just enjoy it as a fun story cheerfully told and amusingly illustrated.-Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.