When a young boy sees “dark clouds roll like ocean waves across the sky” he knows that the monsoon rains are about to begin. His grandmother, mother, father, and brother are all too busy to come out to play, but Dadaji makes the time. The boy and his grandfather sail paper boats, walk in the rain, and swing on the banyan tree. Dadaji tells his grandson how monsoon arrived when he was a boy, just as it does now. “ 'Will monsoon come when I become a dadaji?’ 'Yes, it will,’ Dadaji replied.” Descriptive language captures the close relationship between the two as they experience the welcome change in weather together. (Ages 4–8)

A small boy expresses his excitement as the monsoon rains begin, signal ing the end of the hot, dry summer. But no one in his extended family wants to play in the rain except Dadaji, his grandfather. They sail boats and swing from the banyan tree, watch ants and peacocks, and pick the last mangoes, just as Dadaji did as a child. Sheth emphasizes the cyclical nature of India’s weather and the unpredictability of monsoons. She also includes—without comment—cultural markers such as cows wandering the streets. There is an author’s note about her childhood in India. 2009 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People. lmp