Saving the Spectrum: Ava and the Rainbow (Who Stayed) by Ged Adamson

Ava was excited.

Not because the rain was stopping. She was excited because the sun was coming out.

That means one thing...

A RAINBOW!

Now, nobody doesn't like rainbows. But Ava is a special case.

And this rainbow is really something special, too--the biggest and the most beautiful anyone had ever seen.

"If only you could stay!" she said to the rainbow.

And amazingly, it did. It was still there when Ava awoke the next morning, curving over the whole city. The townspeople were awed and amazed, and as it seemed to be planning on staying, they decided to make the most of their new mascot. Pretty soon the word spread far and wide, and tourists began to flock into town to see the persistent rainbow. Ava was in her glory, spending lots of time hanging out and talking to the rainbow, her special friend.

But even for Ava, the everlasting rainbow was a mixed blessing. Soon the town was crowded with vacationing families taking selfies with the rainbow. Everyone wore rainbow t-shirts; all the toddlers hugged rainbow plush toys, and all of them milled around, spoiling the view. And when they got tired of the same old rainbow, they started looking for rare birds to photograph.

Hmmm! A rare and precious sight? thought the rainbow.

Tired of his notoriety, the rainbow decided to make himself scarce.

Ava was a little sad, but she had a sneaking suspicion that the rainbow might be back before too long, in Ged Adamson's Ava and the Rainbow (Who Stayed) (Harper, 2018). With folksy faux naif illustrations and a whimsical charm, Adamson tells the old story of too much of a good thing in a fanciful and once-over-lightly cautionary tale just right for fans who can't get enough of rainbows, unicorns, and fairy princesses.