This is a beautifully amazing books, so fitting for the current circumstances. I read this with my 4 and 6 year olds and they both enjoyed it. The illustrations are beautiful and the overall message really rings true. This will be a book we cherish for a long time, because of the sentiment but also because it will will be a reminder of the tough times we have got through.

This is an adorable, short picture book that would be perfect for children aged 5 - 8 to reflect on their experiences through lockdown. I liked the realistic but positive setting, and the rhyme scheme, which would make it great to read aloud to a class. The beautiful illustrations really suit the uplifting theme too.

Wow this was simply beautiful. It gives a real insight to the child's mind of how it felt to be in lockdown, something that for some came on very suddenly! I loved the rhyming words and the beautiful illustrations and the easy flow of the story. I think this book will be a hit! Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this amazing book.

The World Made a Rainbow is an adorable look a child's view of lockdown, I think it would be useful to ease the fears of children worrying about the virus and what their life is like. It has a strong emphasis on family, having a good supoort network and being patient. This too shall pass.

Are there any picture books that you just can’t get through without having a little cry? For me, this is it! The World Made a Rainbow by Michelle Robinson and Emily Hamilton is one of the most beautiful and moving picture books I have ever had the pleasure of reading, and I strongly urge everyone to go out and get themselves a copy when it’s released!

The story begins at the start of lockdown when Mum is trying to explain to her little girl why she can’t go to school or see her friends and grandparents. They decide to paint a huge rainbow to brighten up their day and those of people out on their daily walks:

“Let’s paint a big rainbow to put on display.
When people pass by it and see it, they’ll say:
‘All rainstorms must end and this rainstorm will too,’

And they’ll feel a bit happier all thanks to you”
As they work through the colours one by one the little girl is reminded of things she misses. The chairs at school, her best friend, the colour of the sea. But her parents teach her how to try to be more positive and optimistic, how to try to count her blessings, how to work around the problem and to find new adventures and ways to communicate. And they reassure her that one day this storm will pass.

This one gets me right in the feels. It has a wonderfully reassuring message that I think everyone (not just children!) needs to hear right now, executed to perfection in Michelle Robinson’s accessible rhyming text.

Emily Hamilton’s adorable illustrations, which allow the vibrant rainbow colours to leap from the page, help to imbue the book with a real feeling of hope and positivity, something that I feel is so important for our children as we try to navigate this strange new normal.

A proportion of the sales of this book will be donated to Save the Children, so I’d love to help them raise as much money as possible. It would make a great keepsake to look back on in the future to remember this strange old time.

This is a super sweet story about a really tough time that all children alive now can relate too. I like how it used the importance of the rainbow in the UK during this time as a way to be creative, to make memories, to remember good people and memories. The World Made A Rainbow is a book for a specific time but can be used in any time of strife.

This is such a sweet little book which marks a moment in time - this strange year, lockdown, the pandemic - and also captures the sense of hope which came out of it. Remember how it felt to go for your hourly walk when you were feeling a bit sad and strange and see rainbow after rainbow in all the windows?

The World Made a Rainbow by @michellerobinsonbooks and @emilyhamiltonillustration starts with a little girl explaining that the world has to stay at home but she wants to go out and play. Her Mum suggests they create a rainbow to remind others that the rainstorm will pass and to make them feel happier. As the little girl selects each colour she feels different emotions, some which make her feel sad and others which remind her of people she loves or things she can't wait to do. Along the way mum and dad help (in between working and looking after her little brother - oh how i remember that work/childcare lockdown juggle!). I love the way the family all work on the rainbow together and how they get creative using different materials when they don't have enough paint. It feels like you're crafting the rainbow along with them as it grows.

The final, gorgeous illsutration is a fitting reminder to treasure the things which are most important in life. Lockdown definitely gave me a better perspective of what's important and what's not and we will be trying our hardest to keep looking for the rainbows.

This is a lovely book for children to talk about their feelings and the impact of Covid 19 and lockdown with parents, and teachers. A fantastic conversation starter and a lovely way to reflect on the difficulties they have faced in the last year.

A beautifully illustrated book telling the story of a little girl creating a rainbow and reflecting upon life during lockdown. The use of rhyme helps the story read well and I think this book would be enjoyed by young children and parents alike.

A truly lovely picture book that deals with the complex emotions that children have had to navigate during the pandemic lockdown. It's beautifully written, weaving together the fun craft activity of creating a rainbow with the difficult emotions it stirs up. It does this without sentimentality, just a positive message of understanding it's hard but that we will come through it together. A simple yet powerful story with illustrations that perfectly compliment the text. An excellent book to share with children.

This book is magic. It explains lockdown in a way that children can understand.

My son who is 7 loved this and kept saying we did that too mummy.

Just brilliant.

Read this book with my 3 children aged 10, 8 and 4. As we are all due to go back to school next week it was a great story to get us talking all about our experiences of lockdown and all the memories we had made, both good and bad. The story is simple and sweet so my youngest found it easy to follow and loved that the character in the story did some of the same lockdown activities that we had done. A great story for helping children to reflect on the lockdown period. For children who have lost someone to covid-19 the last line of the book could possibly be upsetting but on the whole a lovely, emotive story.

The World Made a Rainbow is an incredibly beautiful book for our times. Published in 2020 for the children of 2020, it is a story families will relate to and be able to look back on in years to come as a reminder of how we all coped with lockdown. The Covid19 pandemic and its social restrictions have been difficult for everyone but especially for young children who don’t fully understand why they have to stay home and how the normal world seems to have stopped.

In this story, all the world has to stay home for a while – until everything mends. No one is sure just how long that will be. It’s as if life as we know it has been paused. The little girl and her family mirror so much of what has been going on around the country over the past six months: she misses her friends, Mum has to work, Dad is looking after her younger brother, they are trying to make do with the things they have in the house and find new ways to be creative. They decide to make a rainbow like so many other families. Each colour reminds the girl of someone or something and it becomes a very special piece of artwork that she is proud to display in her window.

Full of heartfelt, honest words, this story is incredibly touching and one that will last for a long time. My own children would like to keep it for when they have children of their own and they tell them about the pandemic of 2020 and what things were like when they were young. It focuses on community and our common experience. With messages of hope and everyone pulling together to face new challenges, it is a reflection of the very special time when the world stood still.

“All rainstorms must end, and this rainstorm will, too.”

Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for this very special book!

Rainbows have represented a universal symbol of hope during the global pandemic and making a rainbow and displaying it in their window is something that almost all children will associate with this time. Although Coronavirus is never explicitly mentioned, children will instantly recognise in the story this period in their own lives of being isolated from others. 'The World Made a Rainbow' has crystallised our experiences of these strange and worrying times in a wonderfully soothing and rhyming story.

'The World Made a Rainbow' captures beautifully the feelings of sadness, frustration, loneliness and loss of a little girl during the lockdown period. I'm sure we can all identify with those feelings when we look back on our time away and reading 'The World Made a Rainbow' helped me to reflect on my family's experience during this time; missing Grandparents and school-friends, longing to visit the park and the seaside and waving to loved-ones from behind glass.

I had to smile at the illustration depicting mum working from home on her laptop whilst simultaneously taking a call on her mobile - meanwhile there is chaos in the background! This is part of the pandemic I personally struggled the most with. Balancing home-schooling, entertaining and feeding children whilst trying to work was a task of epic proportions of which I never wish to be repeated! Nor will I miss the endless 'Zoom' calls, the sound of the waiting room pinging and cries of 'you're on mute!' and 'turn your camera on!'

Equally, there is a huge amount of hope in this book. 'The Word Made a Rainbow' celebrates the inventiveness and creativity that has been required from us all throughout this very difficult period - I'm sure we've all had to improvise with limited resources at home to make crafts with the kids or adapt recipes to bake when ingredients were scarce.

'The World Made a Rainbow' will quite possibly become a piece of social history, with copies of the book being placed in time capsules and memory boxes alongside other keepsakes from the time when all of the world had to stay home. Perhaps our children will one day sit with a grandchild on their lap and share this significant story, steeped in history.

With thanks to NetGalley & Bloomsbury for providing me with a digital copy of the book to review in advance of publication.

Wow, where to start? I'm a big fan of Michelle's books and I really like rhyming picture books when they are done well. This is really a beautiful book and has made me feel quite emotional.
The story is about a little girl who is finding lockdown quite difficult (although lockdown and covid are not explicitly mentioned).
Her mum encourages her to make a rainbow to display in the window.
This book is perfect to share with children and is full of hope and the importance of family and friends.
The illustrations are really lovely, vibrant and colourful. Overall a perfect picture book.

A colourful celebration of life and hope.

A little girl is missing her extended family and friends during lockdown, so makes a rainbow for her window. Some colours remind her of the things she is missing, others of moments in her past, and some remind her how much she has to look forward to in the future.

This is a really beautiful picture book exploring life during lockdown, which children will find both relatable and comforting. My daughter could definitely see herself in the main character, who misses her school and her friends, and sometimes feels lost in a house where her parents are busy working and looking after younger siblings.

The World Made a Rainbow is a gentle reminder that it's okay to feel sad, or afraid sometimes, but also focuses on the positivity and hope in the world.

The artwork is bright and cheerful, and we loved the images of multicoloured rain, especially at the end.

The World Made a Rainbow is a really lovely story, and would make a wonderful 'back to school' gift for anyone who is feeling a little bit nervous.

Thank you so much for the chance to read this lovely book with my children. The illustrations are beautiful and the rhyming style flows well and is easy to read aloud. My 8 and 4 year olds enjoyed this and it created discussion about the lockdown, our feelings and our own rainbow that we created in our front window. We will definitely be purchasing this story to keep 🌈

This is a lovely story that could be used to help children begin to recognise and process their emotions regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. As the country shut down, rainbows appeared and added a touch of colour and hope to the lives of those passing by. This colourful rhyming story documents that, telling the story of one little girl and the things each colour reminded her of. Taking her through the emotions of curiosity, sadness, happiness, hope and loneliness, we follow her process as she makes her own rainbow and shares it with her friends.
I think this is a must for every early years and KS1 classroom at the start of the school year. I will definitely be purchasing a copy to use to prompt discussions between the children in my class.

I received an eARC of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a lovely book which I read with my daughter and we really enjoyed it. The book is about a little girl who makes a rainbow to put on her window, using art supplies and other objects around the house, while she is in lockdown with her family. I liked the positivity of the book and how the little girl felt safe while she interacted with her friends and family, even though she had to stay at home.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was such a joy to read and one that I cannot wait to share with the children in my class. The story follows the journey of a little girl experiencing the COVID-19 lockdown, this is great for children to see that the things that they experienced and how they felt during this time were completely normal and experienced by many others too. I enjoyed how it portrayed the highs and lows of lockdown in an easily-accesible way and showed the true nature of lockdown: finding new ways to entertain yourself, learning new ways of doing things, getting help from parents and also learning that parents had to work too and therefore developing independence. A truly lovely story.