Walk in the Rain with a Brain by Edward Hallowell, Bill Mayer (Illustrator), Bill Mayer (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

Each brain finds its own special way — that's the message in this delightful, colorful story by America's foremost expert on learning and childhood development.

Edward Hallowell, M.D., is a noted psychiatrist and teacher and a leading authority on attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. At many of his lectures worldwide he has read a story he wrote for children about how each person's brain is unique — and it has resonated among the thousands of parents, teachers, and others who have heard it.

A Walk in the Rain with a Brain is the illustrated version of that story. In it, a little girl named Lucy is making her way down a rainy sidewalk when she spies, of all things, a brain — Manfred, called Fred — sitting forlornly in a puddle. The courtly cerebrum asks Lucy for help getting home, and as they walk along she worries that she's not smart enough. "Everyone's smart!" explains Fred. "You just need to find out at what!" Fred reassures her that each child learns and thinks differently — and that every child has special talents.

Charming illustrations and a funny, whimsical story teach children to play and learn in order to find the strengths they have — and a discussion guide at the end gives parents and educators the background support they need in order to help children understand and discover the sparkling individuality of their minds.

Publishers Weekly

Psychiatrist Hallowell (Driven to Distraction) attempts to impart a worthwhile if well-worn message in rhyming couplets. Unfortunately the story's hokey and jarring delivery significantly diminishes the impact of the moral, as does the garish artwork. Walking in the rain, Lucy encounters a bug-eyed creature who "look[s] like a lump of cold smoke" and says, "Hello, little girl, I'm a brain,/ And I'm stuck out here in the rain./ Manfred's my name, for short it's just Fred,/ And I fear that I've just lost my head." As the two go in search of Fred's missing body part, the child asks the brain to make her smart and "Fred said with a start,/ `Everyone's smart!/ You just need to find out at what!' " He then launches into a rambling tale about a brain named Complain who coined the word "smart," equating "smart" with "best." Finally a brain called Tru counters Complain's claim, announcing, "No brain is the best!/ .../ What we need to do is explore and find all our talents galore!" Just before an eerie scene in which Fred "dive[s] into his head" to end the tale, he echoes this sentiment in equally vapid terms: "No brain is the same, no brain is the best,/ Each brain finds its own special way." Mayer's depiction of the brain characters does not differentiate among them, and the girl's nearly featureless face may creep out some youngsters. His sterile compositions do little to enliven the narrative. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Sue Stefurak - Children's Literature

What is an adventure that can last a lifetime? Another way of asking this question is "what does your brain really like to do?" A long time ago everyone was smart and knew how to play: play at words, play at dancing, play at chess. There was no such thing as stupid. But along came the "test" and now we measure smartness, and who is the "best," and life is no longer an adventure. Now we have smart kids and dumb kids, "if you think like me, then smart you'll be." The message Dr. Hallowell tells parents, teachers, and coaches is that "no brain is best." What each brain needs is to explore and find out what talents it has and to make a long list of those things you like to do and play. Bill Mayer's distinctive graphic illustrations, delight us as Fred the purple brain with bright yellow ping-pong eyes accompanies little Lucy as they search for a head to put Fred's brain in and regain Lucy's self-esteem. 2004, HarperCollins, Ages 5 up.

Product Details