Outstanding in the Rain by Frank Viva

by | Apr 23, 2015 | Books Reviews

 

Title:  Outstanding in the Rain
Author & Illustrator:  Frank Viva
Publisher:  Tundra Books
Date:  2015
Recommended Ages:  4+

I have a special treat for my readers on today’s blog for World Book Day.  It is the new release of Outstanding in the Rain by Frank Viva published by Tundra Books.  I received a copy of the book from the publisher (Tundra Reading Club) in order to facilitate this review.  Children and adults will delight in reading this whole story with holes.

Outstanding in the Rain takes the reader on an adventure through a day at an amusement park with a boy and his mom as they enjoy the sights and sounds.  But this isn’t your ordinary day through the amusement park, it is one filled with the word play of oronyms. What is an oronym?  An oronym is a pair of words that sound the same.  You will discover them seamlessly woven together to tell the story of the boy’s day at the park.  Even the title of the book is an oronym.  Any budding linguist will rejoice in reading this book.

oronyms
Excerpt from Outstanding in the Rain by Frank Viva.
Frank Viva is an award winning illustrator and designer and the illustrations are bold, vibrant and clever.  The reader can see the hole in the book change words as well as the picture.  In the above picture we see balloons and when you turn the page those balloons become ice cream.  I just love the contrast between the aqua blue colour and the red.  And we see ‘an ice man’ change into ‘a nice man’.   This is just one example of an oronym in the book.  These were my favourite pages in the book.
oronyms
Excerpt from Outstanding in the Rain by Frank Viva.
I have not read any other books by Frank Viva but I will be looking for them now at my local library. As an educator, this book would a wonderful resource in a classroom when teaching homonyms and now oronyms.  At home my children delighted in seeing how the pictures changed through the holes.
What books are you enjoying today on World Book Day?
Cheers and Happy World Book Day,
Bonnie