Monsoon by Uma Krishnaswami illustrated by Jmel Akib

The word monsoon comes from an old Arabic word, mausim, meaning 'season'. The monsoon is a season of rain. 

This is a book about anticipation. It made me think of Come on Rain by Karen Hesse. The family go about their daily life, but everyone is sure the big rains are not too far away. They watch the sky and listen to the news. 

"The heat makes me feel like a crocodile crouching snap-jawed."

Then they hear some distant thunder. The grandmother tells stories of the monsoon of the past - wetter, fuller and longer. Then the shape of the clouds change looking like partridge feathers. Then more clouds gather. 

"Suddenly it is still, a stillness filled with promises of dampness in the air."

"Umbrellas turn into walking forests. ... The raindrops make me laugh out loud, thudding on earth and rooftops and on my skin."

This is a perfect book to use for class work about weather, global warming, rain or Asian studies and even though it was published in 2003 it is still available for less than AUS$20.

“The level of anticipation is so high that every engine rumble sounds like thunder….An expressive story about seasons, extremes, and waiting.” Kirkus Reviews

Bookseller blurb: Children play, birds call, and grown-ups go about their business during the hot days of summer in northern India. But in the bustle of the street and marketplace, everyone is watching, waiting for those magical clouds to bring their gift of rain to the land. Through the observations of one young girl, the scents and sounds, the dazzling colors, and the breathless anticipation of a parched cityscape are vividly evoked during the final days before the welcome arrival of the monsoon.

In the library of my friend they are reviewing books with low borrowing rates. Monsoon has only been borrowed by students twice since 2010 but I am sure it has been included in many of the class topic bulk book loans. I was excited to see Uma Krishnaswami on the cover of this book because I loved her little novel The Book Uncle and Me and a few years ago I discovered she lives Victoria, British Columbia, Canada which is where a friend of mine also lives. Uma Krishnaswami also spoke at the USBBY Conference held at Washington University in 2017 - Radical Change Between Borders.