"When the forests cooled,
as wildfires always do,
I brought flowers to all the neighbors
while the grown-ups swept the ashes
and washed windows."
This weather-related picture book will help our youngest readers understand four different types of storms they might experience in areas near where they live: tornado, blizzard, hurricane, and wild fires. Each are certainly part of the news cycles on television, and all are frightening if you happen to live where they happen. Climate change has certainly made such events more commonplace.
Four families and how they cope with these formidable storms are showcased in carefully-chosen, concise text that has impact for those reading it. The first family lives where tornados are not unusual. When the wind howls, they party in the basement. Flashlights, lanterns, books, games and toys provide a distraction until the wind calms and clean-up can begin. The second family lives in a snowy world where blizzards can cause power outages, but fireplaces cook the food they love to share - hot dogs and toasted marshmallows. Children will note they are wearing hats, sweaters and blankets for warmth. Oh, the fun to be had when the blizzard leaves behind snow for shovelling, snowball fights and making snowmen.
Next, it's family camping at a lake not far from a burned-out forest. The smoke is evident across the lake, and the clean-up will happen when the forest has cooled down. Finally, it's hurricane season, causing skies to darken, waters to rise and occasional evacuations to safer places with family away from the storm surges. The hurricane calms, as did the tornado, the blizzard, and the wild fire. Life returns to normal, until the next storm.
"It's okay to be scared.
Nature is strong and powerful.
But, I am strong and powerful, too."
Nature is strong and powerful.
But, I am strong and powerful, too."
These families have grit. When all seems lost and bleak, people pick themselves up, do what needs to be done, prepare for the next, and move on in the same way that storms tend to do. The illustrations that frame these events are boldly colored, shifting each time from the storm's power to the calm aftermath.
In back matter, the authors add a paragraph that provides a touch more information about each type of storm.
Thanks for theorough account. Your visitors might like to know that Christmas 2019,. when we had just finalized the book, Heidi found small black bracelets on sale on line which had I AM THE STORM hidden on the inside, We bought four, one for each of us, one for our editor and assistant editor and now call ourselves the Storm Sisters! -Jane Yolen
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