The Rainmaker

Zanyar Adami & Ishtar Bäcklund Dakhil

When it rains, Baran always thinks about his dad, the rainmaker. He stayed behind when Baran and his mom were forced to flee after an attack on their camp in the mountains. Now, Baran and his mom live in Sweden, in a building so tall it almost touches the clouds, and he has just started preschool. When Baran’s dad finally arrives, they go to the airport to meet him. Soon, his dad will hold Baran tightly in his arms, just like before.

The Rainmaker is a timeless story about escape, loss, and longing. But it is also about a child’s ability to find his place in a new, unfamiliar country. Ishtar Bäcklund Dakhil’s touching illustrations alternately tells the story about Baran’s new everyday life and the powerful memories of the mountains that reappear in his dreams.

Zanyar Adami is an author and film director. As the founder of the magazine Gringo, he was awarded the Grand Journalism Prize in 2005. He has also written and directed several award-winning films and radio dramas. His autobiographical novel Glaspojken (2021) is about how he came to Sweden alone from Iran at the age of five. In his everyday life, he is the CEO of the media house Fanzingo, which amplifies young people’s stories. The Rainmaker is his first children’s book.

Ishtar Bäcklund Dakhil is an artist and picture book maker, educated at Konstfack and the California College of Arts. In several of her works, she combines analogue storytelling with Virtual Reality technology in a deeply personal and innovative way. In 2020, she was awarded Svenska Tecknares prize Kolla! for the picture book and VR experience Aldrig ensam.