Book 48: Rain Player by David Wisniewski

My half-sister sent me this book when I was 6 (1991), and I've held onto it all this time! This was one of the books I demanded be read to me repeatedly, and a great motivator for me to learn how to read. I was surprised and confused when I got to school and discovered none of my classmates had ever heard of it, and even after I matured enough to understand how confuddling the children's book industry was it was still baffling how the incredible artwork in the book wouldn't bring it to greater fame:


Everything is layered cut paper with intricate designs! As a kid I thought this was simple construction paper cut with scissors, which I desperately wanted to recreate but wasn't allowed. Now, as an adult, I can appreciate Wisniewski's brief note at the end of the book on his materials and process. And I can see now how much work he put into layering, utilizing shadows as another medium and having to plan around them before making the first cut. I own two more of his books, but this one has always been my favorite partly because there's no tragedy and partly because his artwork is the most vivid and intricate here.


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2497933.Rain_Player

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