Blitzed by a Blizzard!

April 1, 2010
Gr 4-6-Students with a penchant for the extreme will relish the dangerous situations described in these fact-filled works, whose first-person accounts add nail-biting immediacy. The books describe some of the same threats as those covered in ABDOs Weather Watchers, but here the pitch of the content and the appetite of the audience are a perfect match. While focusing on one survivors experiences before, during, and after events such as Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and Chicagos deadly 1995 heat wave, the books also relate the history of the event and similar disasters, and scientific cause and effect. While the authors dont gloss over human suffering, including the poverty that exacerbated tragedies such as Hurricane Katrina, they refrain from political commentary. Large, clear color photographs and effective scientific diagrams add to the successful presentations.

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.