A Raindrop Hit My Nose
Ray Butrum
Hamer House Publishing (2024)
ISBN: 979-8335280808
Reviewed by Jennifer Donovan for Reader Views (01/2025)
“A Raindrop Hit My Nose” by Ray Butrum is a book in the Science With Hazel series, and while Hazel appears in the illustrations, this particular tale is about how a boy named Michael Hydro learns about the water cycle. On a stormy day, Michael goes outside to play, but a crack of thunder and lightning frightens him. He trips on his grandfather’s garden hose while running back to the house, and as he gets back up, a raindrop with a face lands on his nose!
The raindrop teaches an engaging lesson about the water cycle, assuaging Michael’s fears. It explains in age-appropriate language how the process of condensation brings two gases together in the clouds, transforming them into a liquid called H2O. As the water gains weight, it becomes rain, and if it were colder outside, it could become other forms of precipitation such as sleet or snow.
The raindrop continues by explaining that once precipitation hits the ground, it has the potential to evaporate in the sun, descend through the soil to the water table, or flow in rivers to a body of water. Once it reaches the ocean or the sea, it will evaporate and join other gases in the clouds—until it rains again!
Although advanced words such as condensation, precipitation, and evaporation are used, the colorful illustrations by Ada Abigael Aco and the delightful rhyming stanzas make “A Raindrop Hit My Nose” a brilliant read for savvy young children. The language is simple enough that both preschoolers and elementary school children can enjoy the story.
Parents, teachers, and librarians will appreciate the concise explanation of the water cycle, complete with diagrams and examples. I was extremely impressed with how Ray Butrum made this concept palatable for young readers while conforming to the structure of a rhyming poem in common meter. With snow on the ground outside my house, reading this book with my children has helped them understand what happens as the snow melts!
Inspiring interest in Earth science and meteorology at an early age, I highly recommend “A Raindrop Hit My Nose” by Ray Butrum. This book could also be a helpful tool on stormy days to calm children’s fears, giving them the confidence of knowing what is happening when it rains.