Book Review: What’s on the Other Side of the Rainbow?


What’s on the Other Side of the Rainbow?
By Carla Jo Masterson
Illustrated by Omra Jo Fochtman
Harmony Soup, Inc.
ISBN: 1-59975-228-X, 978-1-159975-228-0
Copyright 2006
Hardcover, 38 pages, $24.95
Children’s Picture Book

Feelings. What are feelings?
Where do they come from?
What are they for?

These are the questions answered in this lovely picture book by author Carla Jo Masterson.

The story begins when Mr. Positively, a fantasy, dream-like being who inhabits the rainbow and who could be viewed as God, invites children to follow him through the colors of the rainbow in a journey of self discovery. Love, anger, laughter, shyness, fear, sadness, friendship, joy—these emotions are examined as the children move from one color of the rainbow to another.

The author uses repetition techniques for rhythm and cadence and a combination of rhyme and free verse. The surrealist illustrations in soft pastels create a nice splash across the pages and complement well the serene, almost spiritual tone of the story. This is an unusual book that invites young readers to self retrospection.

What’s on the other side of the rainbow? The reader will have to buy the book to find out! Suffice to say it’s a magic rule that everybody should know and every child should understand from a young age. A book that isn’t only a fun story, but one that leads to parent-child bonding and spiritual growth, What’s on the Other Side of the Rainbow? comes highly recommended from this reviewer.

Reviewed by Mayra Calvani

Comments

Hi, Mayra,

I've been wanting to read this picture book. Now I want to read it more than ever.

Thanks for the review.

Suzanne Lieurance
National Writing for Children Center
http://www.writingforchildrencenter.com