April’s rainy weather is a harbinger of spring flowers—and it’s also just right for picture books with onomatopoeia-rich texts! Rain makes so many wonderful sounds, depending on how big the drops, how puddle-welcoming the ground on which it falls, and activities we undertake outdoors in rainy weather. Cloudy skies and falling water make glorious subjects for illustrations, of course; however, accompanying words paint glorious soundscapes as well.
In this pair of rainy-day fun picture books, we can delight in yet another level of onomatopoeia delight, thanks to translators’ work of ensuring that both sound and sense travel from one language to another.
From Child’s Play series “Whatever the Weather,” written and illustrated by Carol Thompson, RAIN is available ina bilingual Spanish, translated by Teresa Mlawer, and original English edition, making rainy noises twice as much fun! In LLUVIA/RAIN we hear “Gota a gota, Drip drop, Plic plac, Plip plop,” falling and “Chop chap… Splish splosh…” of a toddler jumping into an ensuing puddle. What rainy day noises can you make with your feet, or hear falling on pavement, umbrella, or slicker?
From Red Comet Press DOWNPOUR has traveled from its Japanese original, written by Yuko Ohnari and illustrated by Koshiro Hata, to English readers through the translation work of Emily Balistrieri. The subtitle sets up the wonderful sound words to some as it declares: “Splish! Splash! Ker-Splash!” Variations of rain intensity receive their own sounds here, as well as all the delightful activities the child creates with them. Here, the English for the pounding of an initial downpour sounds: “Bada-bada-bada,” increasing to “Bada. Plam-plam,” until it eases back enough that we can hear the puddle-jump sound “Ker-splash.” What did it sound like in Japanese?
The next time it rains, try making a list of the sounds you hear. If you have multiple languages, does the rain sound a bit different depending on which ears you put to weather? Onomatopoeia can be twice as fun when we hear the word against the backdrop of the sound that inspires it. BOOM! Oh, dear! This rain has been joined by thunder!
