41. The Rainbabies

I am not exactly sure why this book would be included in the 1000 Books to Read Before You Die. It was nice, but it wasn't anything remarkable. This is what the author of 1000 Books, James Mustich, says:

A picture book is often a shared family treasure, and few contemporary illustrated stories have been more shareable—or more treasurable—than this magical volume, in which a childless couple discovers twelve tiny babies in the raindrops of a spring moonshower. They nurture and protect them with love, luck, and courage. Strange dangers rear their heads, but the man and woman remain steadfast in their devotion to their accidental infants. Laura Krauss Melmed has told her beautiful story so well—in the imagery, rhythms, and resonance of a true fairy tale—that one turns the pages both awed and overjoyed. Jim LaMarche’s paintings are perfectly matched to the tenor of the tale. The Rainbabies is the kind of book that stays in a family across the generations.