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Goodnight, Rain

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Goodnight, Emilia · Story 8

About “Goodnight, Rain”

Pitter-patter! It's raining at bedtime, so Emilia pulls on her boots and follows the raindrops with Pip to find out where all this rain comes from, saying goodnight to a puddle, thirsty flowers, a little frog and a wiggly worm. A cozy first lesson in how clouds make rain, how plants drink with their roots, and how the sun sends the water back up to the sky.

A rainy bedtime becomes a question to follow: where does all this rain come from? Emilia traces a drop down her window and watches two drops bump and join into a bigger one, a picture the story returns to later. Then she pulls on her raincoat and boots and steps out the back door, which stays lit just behind her, for goodnights to a puddle, flowers drinking through their roots, a frog who soaks up rain through his skin and a worm in the wet grass. The answer is up in the clouds, made of drops too small to see. There is no thunder, only a steady pitter-patter.

This story is coming to YouTube soon. You can read it below and print its coloring page now.

What Emilia learns

  • raindrop
  • puddle
  • roots
  • frog
  • worm
  • cloud

Tips for grown-ups

  • On a real rainy night, sit by a window with the lights low and follow one drop down the glass together, the way Emilia does. Watch for two drops that touch and join.
  • Make the pitter-patter part of lights out: tap your fingertips softly on the blanket, slower and slower, and finish with a whispered "Goodnight, rain."
  • The American Academy of Sleep Medicine suggests a relaxing bedtime routine and shielding children from scary media. This story leaves thunder out on purpose, which can make it a good fit for a child who is unsure about stormy nights.
  • If your child wants to go out in the rain at bedtime like Emilia, keep the routine the same and offer the window instead. The puddle and the drips can get their goodnight from inside.
  • Bring the story's last idea into the next morning: check a puddle together and see whether it has shrunk, since the sun's warmth sends the water back up into the air.

Talk about it

After watching, ask:

  • What happened when two raindrops bumped?
  • What did Emilia wear outside?
  • How do flowers drink?
  • How does a frog drink?
  • Who came up out of the wet grass?
  • Where does rain come from?

Try this together

Make a quiet rainstorm in bed with the lights off: rub your palms together for a soft shower, tap fingertips on the blanket for drops, then let the rain slow to one last drip. When it's silent, whisper goodnight.

Free coloring page

Coloring page: Emilia in her raincoat, rain hat and boots under her red umbrella, holding Pip, smiling at a happy frog sitting by a big puddle, with tulips, a rain cloud and big raindrops

Goodnight, Rain: Emilia and the Happy Frog: print it (US Letter or A4) or color it on screen.

Read the story

Goodnight, Rain. Pitter-patter, tap, tap.
Emilia watched the rain, with Pip on her lap.
Hmm... where does it come from, all of this rain?
Let's find out! Follow a drop down the windowpane.

On her window, the raindrops were having a race.
She picked one, and followed it down. What a chase!
When two drops bump, they join into one bigger drop.
Goodnight, raindrops. Pitter-patter... plip, plop.

Raincoat on, boots on... and her umbrella went pop!
She tiptoed outside with Pip. Plip! A drop!

Rain runs down, down, down, to a low spot in the ground,
and fills it right up: a puddle, shiny and round.
Tap! went her boot. Ripples ran out in the glow.
Goodnight, puddle. Pitter-patter... soft and low.

In the garden, the flowers were having a sip.
They drink with their roots, underground. Drip, drip!
But where does rain come from? Do you have a clue?
Goodnight, flowers. Pitter-patter... a drink for you.

Hop! Out of the grass came a little green frog.
Ribbit! He sat in the rain on a mossy log.
Frogs drink through their skin, so the rain soaks in.
Goodnight, frog. Pitter-patter... a sleepy grin.

In the wet grass: wiggle, wiggle... a little worm!
Worms come up when it rains. Squirm, squirm, squirm...
Worms make the soil soft, so the roots can reach deep.
Goodnight, worm. Pitter-patter... time to sleep.

Where does rain come from? She looked up... up there!
It comes from the clouds, way up high in the air.
A cloud is water drops, each one too small to see,
all floating together, as light as can be.

Just like on her window, the drops join and grow,
till they're too heavy to float. And down they go!
Tomorrow, the sun will warm up the puddle. And then...
the water will rise, up, up, up, to the clouds again.

Then back inside, into her bed, warm and dry,
while the rain on the roof sang a soft lullaby.
She hugged Pip close and snuggled in tight.
Goodnight, rain. Pitter-patter... all night.

Up on her ceiling, star number eight began to glow.
Next time: the real stars, and the pictures they show.

Shh... let's sing along with the rain.

The lullaby: “Goodnight, Rain”

The story ends with its own lullaby, sung softly while everyone falls asleep. Sing it at bedtime, slowly.

Goodnight, rain, pitter-patter so light,
the raindrops race down the window tonight.
The puddle is shiny and rippled and round,
and flowers drink deep with their roots in the ground.
The frog soaks up rain, and the worm wiggles slow,
and up in the clouds, all the tiny drops grow.
Goodnight, rain, till the sun lifts you high,
and sleep, little one, safe and cozy and dry.

Goodnight, rain... goodnight, rain...

Questions parents ask

Where does rain come from, in simple words?

From clouds. NOAA explains that clouds are made of water droplets that grow inside the cloud, and when they get too heavy to stay up, they fall as rain. Later, warmth turns puddle water into vapor that rises into the air again.

Is there thunder or lightning in this story?

No. The rain stays soft and steady the whole way through, with a warm porch light and the back door always in view.

Do frogs really drink through their skin?

Yes. Frogs don't drink with their mouths; they soak water in through their skin, which is why the frog in the story is happy to sit out in the rain.

Sources

Our tips follow these pages. They are general information, not medical advice: ask your child's doctor or dentist about your child.