Before you read
- Look at the cover. What do you think is in the jar? What will be?
- Has anyone in your family ever kept something for years?
- What does the air feel like right before a storm?
For parents, teachers and librarians
Read it, then go outside
Everything here is free to use at home or in class. Print it, copy it, pin it to the fridge.
While you read
- Pause on page 12. How does Kiki feel? How can you tell from her face?
- Read "Not. One. Drop." slowly, then let the kids read it with you.
- On the haboob page, ask: where would you run?
After you read
- What would you write on the tag of your very first jar?
- Ask a grandparent what they remember about a big storm.
- What does rain smell like where you live?
Words to explore
- Monsoon: the season of summer storms in the desert.
- Haboob: a giant wall of blowing dust.
- Saguaro: the tall cactus with arms.
- Creosote: the desert bush that smells like rain.
An activity
Make your own rain jar
- Find a clear jar with straight sides. Ask a grown-up to tape a ruler to the outside, zero at the bottom.
- Set it outside, away from roofs and trees, on a flat spot.
- After a storm, read the water level. Write the date and the number on a tag.
- Pour it into a jar with a lid, and start your own shelf, just like Grandpa.
Do it with a class all summer and graph who caught the most.
My first jar of rain: ________
School and library visits
Invite Marisol
A 40-minute visit, in person around Phoenix or on video anywhere: a read-aloud, how a page gets made, and every kid draws their own storm cloud.
Grades pre-K to 3. Groups up to a whole school. Sample details