Big Wind: Hurricanes! by Gail Gibbons

THE WINDS ARE HOWLING, THE RAIN IS POURING DOWN, VIOLENT WAVES ARE CRASHING ONTO THE SHORE.

A DANGEROUS SPINNING STORM HAS FORMED OVER TROPICAL WATERS. IT IS A HURRICANE.

Although the mountains are of snow from last winter are still fresh memories, summer's storm season is now upon us, and late spring is a good time to experience vicariously the science, the terrifying power, and the awesome wonder of hurricanes.

Gail Gibbons, our best specialist in early elementary nonfiction, has just the book for a student's first look at the realities of hurricanes and typhoons, Hurricanes! (Holiday House, 2009). Gibbons' swirling, colorful, and vivid but child-friendly illustrations give this brief book a picture-book look, but for its intended audience it also offers substantial scientific information. Diagrams display how hurricanes arise over warm (+84 degree) ocean waters and develop into incredible wind storms with surges of over 18 feet. The categories of hurricanes, from I to V, are described, along with the tracking of hurricane hunters and data evaluators alike, the predictions by which possible tracks of hurricanes and necessary evacuations are forecast, and descriptions of historic storms such as the Galveston hurricane and Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina are covered in simple but accurate text.

Gibbons also wisely heads off children's anxieties by providing a reassuring section on preparation for hurricanes and what to expect if one strikes nearby. An additional section, "More Interesting Facts..." with useful web sites is also appended.

And for inland early elementary students fascinated with those funnel-shaped phenomena, Gibbons also has a companion book, Tornadoes! which provides the basic facts about that other warm weather phenomenon, again with plenty of science and good advice for staying safe in such events.