March is Umbrella Month!

The words "March is Umbrella Month" in a dark blue font on a slightly transparent white rectangle, superimposed on top of a photo of the top of a rainbow colored open umbrella in a sun shower.

March is Umbrella Month! Are you ready for April Showers? Splash into some rainy day fun with these picture books about umbrellas!

 

 
The cover of "Under the Love Umbrella" by Davina Bell, which features a drawing of four multicultural children under a large umbrella, looking up at a dark sky filled with fireworks.
 
The cover of "One Rainy Day" by M. Christina Butler, which has a drawing of a small hedgehog in a yellow raincoat and hat struggling to keep a red umbrella with white polka dots open in a rainstorm.
 
The cover of "The Umbrella" by Ingrid Schubert, which has a drawing of a small black dog holding a red umbrella floating past a surprised giraffe. The background is all yellow, with a darker yellow sun.
 

The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates and Juniper Bates
E BATES, A
Wearing a yellow slicker and boots on a rainy day, a child carries an open red umbrella down a city street...More and more folks join the child under its rapidly expanding canopy, until the umbrella arches over a park filled with animals and culturally diverse, differently abled people, all enjoying themselves and their surroundings. -Booklist

Under the Love Umbrella by Davina Bell
E BELL, D
When life gets hard or scary, there is always room under the love umbrella to feel safe and adored. As the four protagonists of this soothing picture book face common childhood tribulations—deepest dark, friends not sharing, broken toys, wet pants, rushing parents—they are reminded that any problem faced "disappears in a big old flurry/Under the love umbrella." -Elizabeth Lovsin, Deerfield Public Library, IL

One Rainy Day by M. Christina Butler
E BUTLER, M
Little Hedgehog is very excited when he wakes up to the sound of raindrops. Finally he can wear his spiffy new raincoat, hat, and boots, and use his shiny new umbrella. But soon the rain shower turns into a storm and Little Hedgehog’s rainy day turns into a great big adventure! -Perseus Publishing

The Umbrella by Ingrid Schubert
E SCHUBERT (A Wordless Picture Book!)
A little dog finds an umbrella in the garden on a windy day. The moment the dog picks up the umbrella, it catches the wind and pulls the dog skywards. This is the start to fantastic journey around the world. The wind carries the umbrellas and the dog all over the world, from the desert to the sea, from the jungle to the north pole. -Ingram Publishing Services

 
The cover of "Umbrella" by Tarō Yashima which has a yellow background and drawing of a small Japanese girl's face staring intently at a closed blue umbrella. The title and author are in white on brown rectangle backgrounds at the top and bottom.
 
The cover of "The Thingamabob" by Il Sung Na, which has a drawing of a colorful elephant lying down and inspecting a closed red umbrella. The title is at the top in a whimsical blue font, with the author underneath it on the right in red.
 
The cover of "Yellow Umbrella" by Jae Soo Liu, which has a light gray background with an open yellow umbrella as seen from above. The title is at the top in yellow. The author and composer's names are at the bottom in white.

Soaked! by Abi Cushman
E CUSHMAN (Also Available as an eBook!)
A hula-hooping moose, a badger with a bumblebee umbrella, and a rabbit in a cashmere sweater show their grumpy bear friend that a day of fun does not have to depend on sunshine and blue skies. -Baker & Taylor

Umbrella by Tarō Yashima
E YASHIMA
Momo can't wait to use the red boots and umbrella she received on her birthday.  All she needs now is a rainy day!  Soft illustrations portray a thoughtful story about patience and growing independence. -Penguin Publishing

The Thingamabob by Il Sung Na
E NA, I
Finding an umbrella but not knowing what it is for, a curious elephant considers his discovery's potential as a flying object, a boat and a hiding place, before a rainstorm reveals an unexpected use. -Baker & Taylor

Yellow Umbrella by Jae Soo Liu, music by Dong Il Sheen
J 782.42 LIU 2002 (A Wordless Picture Book with Music CD!)
The acoustic, compelling "plink, plink" played on the higher octaves of the piano appropriately sets the mood for paging through this wordless picture book packaged and designed to be read with an enclosed classical-style music CD. -Publishers Weekly

And for an amazingly true tale about how umbrellas came to London in the 1750s, check out this new biography:

Jonas Hanway's Scurrilous, Scandalous, Shockingly Sensational Umbrella
by Josh Crute
J BIO HANWAY, J 2020

Jonas Hanway hates getting wet. How can he go about his day as a proper London gentleman when his shoes are soggy, his coat is always collecting puddles, and his wig looks like a wet cat? Fed up with damp and dreary London, Jonas sails far away, to places where the sun always shines. But what he sees when he gets there is.... scandalous! Shocking! Sensational! Perhaps also...quite genius? Now all Jonas has to do is convince the rest of London that they need an umbrella, too. 
All about the real gentleman who introduced umbrellas to 1750’s London society, this is the perfect story of persistence, problem-solving, and how good ideas hold (off) water. -McMillan Palgrave

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By CrissyH on March 10, 2021