Hurricane Hustle (FAMILY Magazine reviews)

The season of hurricanes is upon us! And we remember the results and clean up from last year’s visit by Hurricane Irma! At a time when young people may feel anxious about hurricanes, these helpful books can make it easier to talk about how to prepare, what to do during, and what can be done following a hurricane. Reading any of these titles can make the opportunity for youngsters to voice their concerns and be reassured by someone who cares.

Ready, Set . . . WAIT! What Animals Do Before a Hurricane 

by Patti R. Zelch

illustrations by Connie McLennan

            South Florida is a featured character in Zelch’s (the “ch” is pronounced as a “k”) informative picture book. The animals she highlights -- from reef fish to pods of dolphin, sharks, lobsters, manatees, seagulls, herons, pelicans, crocodiles, butterflies, rabbits and mice – are waiting out the storm in various hidden locations. They seem to know the storm is coming and how to safely prepare themselves.

            Beginning with humans as they prepare for a brewing hurricane, by protecting their homes and collecting supplies, a young boy wonders what animals do to get ready for a storm. Simple but poetic text (“Fathers flicker flashlights” and “sharks explode”) companions beautiful paintings of the animals in their habitats. As the story continues and the animals huddle, the urgency builds, the clouds darken, the rain falls in sheets and the “wind howls.” The story concludes as the hurricane arrives on land!

            The back matter includes information about hurricanes as natural disasters, a map showing locations and brief explanations of typhoons, cyclones, and hurricanes, how humans prepare for storms, and what the numbers on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale mean. The final pages explain scientific and observational animal behavior. (Additional online links are provided on the publisher’s website.)

Sylvan Dell (now Arbordale Publishing)

$8.95 (paperback)$16.95 (hardcover)

Interest Level: Grade Junior Kindergarten – Grade 3

Hurricane!  

by Jonathan London

illustrated by Henri Sorensen

            Written long before the violence wreaked on Puerto Rico’s shores by last year’s hurricane Maria, this picture-book by hurricane survivor London nonetheless supplies readers with an authentic experience of the adventure, fear and relief that can characterize a hurricane. A morning can begin as any other morning, and in a moment change.

            The sky can darken with thunderclouds, the air can still, just before the wind thrashes the palm trees in a “wild dance.” The family in this story prepares by putting away bikes and closing storm shutters. They pack up bags, pets and supplies and, hurry to the shelter, while the rain slams the car.

            Dramatic paintings are magnetic accompaniments to the vigorous text. The strong sense of family and community support draws the occupants of the shelter together as they deal with a broken window and sing in Spanish.

            The true-to-life conclusion shows the clean-up of the littered yard, and the characters’ home is reassuringly still standing. But not far away others are not so fortunate.

HarperCollins, $17.99

Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 3

Hurricane 

by David Wiesner

            Award winning author/illustrator Wiesner frames an inventive aftermath of a storm when two brothers, David and George, discover an elm tree downed by the hurricane winds during the night as they slept. They imagine a jungle exploration, a ship on the high seas searching for pirates, and a rocket into outer space. The “sleeping giant” becomes a “private place, big enough for secret dreams, small enough for shared adventures.”

            Although Wiesner uses the image of tape on windows, which has long been discredited as a realistic means for protecting glass from shattering. The experiences of the boys and their parents without electricity, and their wonderings about what animals like squirrels and birds do, are familiar to many who have lived through a hurricane.

            The watercolor paintings are both realistic and imaginative as the storm progresses and, in their play afterwards. But especially vivid are the results of the chainsaws, and the interactions between light and color in the double page illustrations that shadow the boys’ sadness as their tree playground becomes stacks of firewood.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

$7.99 (paperback)

Interest Level: Grade 1-3