January 2012

(coming in October 2012)

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring: Celebrity Songbook

One of the most beloved children’s songs gets a rollicking picture book treatment—and a gorgeous musical interpretation by the beloved trio Peter, Paul & Mary. Featuring witty and whimsical art by the renowned illustrator Christine Davenier, this stunning new book offers plenty of fun, whether it’s raining or not.

When the rain pours down, a family full of children decides to play hide-and seek. Even as they scurry into the corners and cubbies and crevices of their house, one little girl cuddles up with Grandpa—the "old man who bumped his head"—and reads to him from her favorite book to help him feel better. Davenier’s sweet and endearing art enhances the fun and fantasy of Peter, Paul & Mary’s charming new arrangement of the tune. Here, the sweet nursery rhyme takes imaginative flight as a cow jumps over the moon, Granddad flies to the stars, and familiar characters like Jack and Jill appear. At the end, when the game is over and the rain, rain has gone away, the entire family gathers around Grandpa in a happy, loving group.

Complete with a CD featuring Peter, Paul & Mary’s marvelous version of the title song, along with Peter singing "Believe Town" and Noel Paul Stookey performing "Glory of Love," this beautiful picture book is perfect for rainy days, bedtime, or any time.

PETER, PAUL & MARY became famous for their ability to convey powerful, personal, and political messages through a repertoire of songs that resonated with millions of Americans in the 1960s. Their debut album, released in 1962, remained in the Top 10 for ten months, and the Top 20 for two years. Their first hit single, "Lemon Tree," was swiftly followed by "If I Had a Hammer," which became an anthem of the Civil Rights movement and was performed by the trio at the 1963 March on Washington where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his legendary "I Have a Dream" speech. Their classic song, "Puff, the Magic Dragon," has been a favorite of children for almost fifty years, and the book version was a number one best seller.

Over a span of more than fifty years, Peter, Paul & Mary touched the lives and hearts of tens of millions of people, won five Grammy Awards, produced thirteen Top 40 hits, and received eight gold and five platinum albums.

Paris-born artist CHRISTINE DAVENIER has illustrated many children’s books, including the best-selling The Very Fairy Princess, written by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Harrison; The First Thing My Mama Told Me by Susan Marie Swanson, for which she won a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year Award and a Charlotte Zolotow Award honor book. The many notable authors whose works she illustrated include Norma Fox Mazer, Madeleine L’Engle, Jack Prelutsky, and Judith Viorst. The Bulletin of the Center of Children’s Books praised her work, noting that: "Sometimes illustrators take us to new worlds; sometimes they make us see our own familiar world anew. Christine Davenier gives daily life a freshness and genuine élan that you only hope the world outside her books can match."