Ray Grey lives in the city of Celestia in the Weatherlands and, unlike her friends, she doesn't have magic powers, though she wishes more than anything that she did. Despite this, she is determined to become an Earth explorer just like her hero, La Blaze De Light. When she makes a secret trip to Earth, she suddenly acquires rainbow magic, something that hasn't been seen in Weatherlands for hundreds of years, but how will this new found magic go down back in Weatherlands?
I have to admit that it was the cover and the gorgeous sprayed edges that first attracted me to the book and, although, I try not to judge a book by its cover, I'm so very pleased I did this time! (Of course, I was also influenced by my love of Amelia Fang!) Rainbow Grey is a wonderfully inventive read that will have you bouncing around the clouds and wishing that you could fire rainbows out of your hands! It's a feel-good read that is guaranteed to put even the grumpiest person in a good mood and will brighten anybody's day.
Why? Several reasons:
The setting and the imagination behind the idea: from the map at the beginning of the book (another reason to love this book - I'm a lover of maps in books!), you can see that The Weatherlands is set in the clouds, with areas such as Dripping Down Village, Valley of Winds and The Jumping Puddles. Everything is linked to the weather and I can imagine it must have been great fun to invent such a world - even names like Ray's mum, Clouida, are linked to the whole theme. I would love nothing more than to visit the Rising Bun Bakery (but would be rather wary of the rumblebuns!)
The characters: Ray is a glorious combination of confidence, determination and colour that children will admire (and I have no doubt that some will want her hair too!); her friendship with Droplett and Snowden is lovely to read and will fill readers' hearts with joy (who doesn't want friends like that?). I loved the effervesce of Cloudia and would secretly love to be able to carry everything I need in my hair! However, I think my favourite character had to be Nim the farting cloud-cat! I'm not a fan of cats but I would happily adopt Nim in an instant (especially if I got to travel to school on him!).
The illustrations: throughout the book, the story is enhanced with Laura's wonderful drawings which only add to the joy, and I turned every page in anticipation as to what would be there!
The plot: full of fun and adventure, with plenty of laughs along the way (think farting cloud-cats!), this is a fast-paced story that will keep readers enthralled, will capture their imagination and has plenty of twists to keep everybody entertained. The end of the story most definitely hints at a second book and I can't wait to see what is next install for Rainbow Grey and her friends.
In short, this is a joy of a book that is full of brightness and cheer and I urge you to bring the rainbow into your life - you won't regret it.
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