This book would serve well on a rainy day for kids who wish they could be outside splashing in puddles. Bear is hard not to love, as a grump portrayed in words, posture, and expression who won't be satisfied by anything but who has a soft, indulgent side in private. Soaked is written by Abi Cushman and published by Viking Books for Young Readers. While he's sulking in the rain, a Hula-Hoop lands around his neck, and Bear gradually discovers he likes it soon the other animals join splashily in the play until 'everyone is SOAKED.' Naturally, when the sun comes back out, Bear again finds fault: it's 'too sunny.' This readaloud is a teasing love letter to rainy days, as Cushman's dreary colors against a nature backdrop evoke the mood of gloomy weather, with goofy breaks of the color scheme in Bear's (stolen) bumblebee umbrella and Moose's three Hula-Hoops. Waiting it out in his cave just means being packed in with Badger, Bunny, and a Hula-Hooping Moose. East Lyme Abi Cushman's first children's book, 'Soaked', is being released nationwide Tuesday by Viking Press, with 30,000 copies fanning out to Walmarts and Targets and other large. Grumpy Bear is displeased with the rain, as it impedes 'all the things that bears love': ice cream cones, sandcastles, and cashmere sweaters. I L.O.V.E it It is a blast to read aloud and is perfect for storytime. ISBN 9781984836632 $10.99 Reviewed from galleys R 3-6 yrs Hello, Abi Cushman Congratulations on your debut picture book, SOAKED I read it in the Philadelphia Airport, during a flight from Philadelphia to Amsterdam, in a cafe in Amsterdam, and aloud in the Bilderberg Hotel Jan Luyken. C ushman, A bi Soaked! written and illus.

Soaked by abi cushman