# Help ID this children's story **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 28, 2002, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-childrens-story/116379 "2002-06-28T14:15:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-childrens-story/116379/1 "2002-06-28T14:15:12Z")
Can someone help me ID this short story? I read it as a kid, in a reading book in (IIRC) 4th or 5th grade. The story goes that a new family moved into the house next door to this kid, and he noticed that they seemed to have an unusual obsession with the weather. They always carried around a barometer, and if there was even the slightest hint of rain they would stay indoors. Then one day they got caught out in the rain and they all melted away, because it turned out they were made of sugar. Does this ring any bells? ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-childrens-story/116379/2 "2002-06-28T17:54:21Z")
No bells ringing for me, but if I had read that as a kid, it would have creeped me out bigtime. ---
**Author:** ![Caesar\_s\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/73ab20/32.png) [@Caesar\_s\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caesar_s_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-childrens-story/116379/3 "2002-06-28T18:05:20Z")
Ack! I remember that! I read it when I was 11 or so and thought it was just the coolest story. But I don’t remember what it was. A Bruce Coville, perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![MachV](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@MachV](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MachV)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-childrens-story/116379/4 "2002-06-28T18:13:58Z")
I don’t know the story either but this really amused me: > [@](#): > > because it turned out they were made of sugar. And then: > [@](#): > > I know the secret of Soylent Green. 😃 FWIW, I’ve Googled and Googled and can’t find the story you’re talking about. Sounds more like a horror story, if you ask me! ---
**Author:** ![Morgainelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Morgainelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgainelf)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-childrens-story/116379/5 "2002-06-28T20:36:06Z")
Try here: [http://www.logan.com/loganberry/solved.html](http://www.logan.com/loganberry/solved.html) An excellent resource for finding children’s books! ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-childrens-story/116379/6 "2002-06-28T21:00:19Z")
I believe it’s a Ray Bradbury story, but I don’t remember the title. It may have even been presented in his TV series. I’ll check some more. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-childrens-story/116379/7 "2002-06-28T21:35:11Z")
Sorry, not Bradbury. It appears to be “Rain, Rain, Go Away” by Isaac Asimov. Synopsis at [http://homepage.mac.com/jenkins/Asimov/Stories/Story219.html](http://homepage.mac.com/jenkins/Asimov/Stories/Story219.html) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2002, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-childrens-story/116379/8 "2002-06-29T05:07:47Z")
Bingo, **rowrbazzle**. Just one thing. A _children’s_ story? ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2002, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-childrens-story/116379/9 "2002-06-29T13:23:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rowrrbazzle \* > \*\*Sorry, not Bradbury. It appears to be “Rain, Rain, Go Away” by Isaac Asimov. Synopsis at [http://homepage.mac.com/jenkins/Asimov/Stories/Story219.html](http://homepage.mac.com/jenkins/Asimov/Stories/Story219.html) \*\* That’s probably it. I was trying to find it because it has become a standard joke in my family for whenever someone doesn’t want to go out in the rain (“Why not? Are you made of sugar?”). Maybe it isn’t really a children’s story, I assumed it was because I read it in late elementary school, in the reading textbook. Apparently, it is indeed [used in a textbook](http://www.mhschool.com/student/reading/mhreading/activity.php3?story=203). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2002, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-childrens-story/116379/10 "2002-06-30T20:56:57Z")
> [@](#): > > I was trying to find it because it has become a standard joke in my family for whenever someone doesn’t want to go out in the rain (“Why not? Are you made of sugar?”). I _think_ that the expression was the inspiration for the story, not the other way around. At least, I’ve heard several of my older relatives, who haven’t read Asimov, saying similar things.