Step through the droplets and go on a journey of emotional discovery with Susan Cahill’s magical portal story, The World Between the Rain.
The World Between the Rain is Susan Cahill’s debut middle-grade novel. It’s a haunting portal adventure about grief, family, gods, and Dreamweavers.
What is The World Between the Rain about?
The story follows the journey of Marina. She accidentally slips between the raindrops after running away from the house of a newly-discovered grandmother.
She finds herself in the watery world of Ishka. It’s full of forgotten gods, strange creatures, and a dream-devouring monster whose emptiness can never be filled.
When the monster threatens Marina’s family and homeland, she knows that she has no choice but to open herself up to some traumatic events in her past that she’s been trying very hard to forget.
It was partly inspired by Cahill’s childhood desire to track down the wardrobe that would grant her entry to the magical realm of Narnia. It was also partly inspired by her childhood home by the sea in West Cork, Ireland.
Why teach it?
This book is full of rich language and imagery. This makes it a great choice to inspire an UKS2 class. There is plenty of scope within this text for narrative writing, poetry work, art and PSHE discussions, amongst other things.
Jo Cummins is an experienced primary school teacher and English leader with a passion for children’s books and mental health awareness. She currently works for a specialist educational provision in Hampshire in a teaching and advisory role. Visit her website at librarygirlandbookboy.com. Follow on X at @BookSuperhero2.
