Monsoon fun at story time

Thunder rumbled among the pitter-patter of rain and hail. The smell of creosote filled the air, yet nobody got wet. The sounds and smells of the monsoon were brought to life through rain sticks, thunder tubes, and creosote branches used by local children's author Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford as she read from her award-winning bilingual book "Hip, Hip, Hooray, It's Monsoon Day!"

"I always make it an interactive, sensory experience for the children, because that's the way they learn," said Rivera-Ashford, who was a bilingual reading teacher for several years.

In fact, that's how she started writing stories, as a way to introduce her students to reading by using familiar subjects. Growing up in the Sonoran desert with memories of welcoming the rain in the summer served as inspiration for the book, she said.

"I always loved the rain, the smell of it, the cloud formations," said Rivera-Ashford. "There was a freshness and freedom I would feel after it cooled off. It was almost a feeling of the plants being happy."

Following a serendipitous reunion in Tucson, Rivera-Ashford found her illustrator in Richard Johnsen, whom she had formerly taught with in Nogales. It was the longtime artist's first time illustrating a children's book and the first time his work was published. He worked closely with the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press to ensure accuracy in his images.

"It's been a wonderful experience. It was a pleasant surprise to see how it came out," said Johnsen, who was on hand for the event.

Rivera-Ashford has spoken at the store for the past three years, at the beginning of each monsoon season, since the book was published four years ago. It won the One Book Arizona award in 2009, among other awards. She is also the author of "My Nana's Remedies/Los Remedios de mi nana."

Visit butterflyheartbooks.com to find out more about the author.

Contact photographer Greg Bryan at gbryan@azstarnet.com or 307-1709.