"A cloudburst doesn't last all day"
-- George Harrison, "All Things Must Pass"
Maria: You just stay right here with me. But where are the others?
Gretel: They're asleep; they're not scared.
[Another clap of thunder brings Brigetta, Louisa, and Marta running in.]
Maria: Oh, really? Look...All right, everyone up here on the bed.
Brigetta: Really?
Maria: Well, just this once. Now, we'll just wait for the boys.
[The girls all hop on the bed.]
Marta: You won't see them. Boys are brave.
[Friedrick and Kurt come running in.]
Maria: You're not scared, are you?
Friedrick: Not at all. We just wanted to make sure YOU weren't scared. It was Kurt's idea.
Kurt: What!
[Another clap of thunder and they all scream]
-- the "My Favorite Things" scene from the film The Sound of Music
"Flash! Crash! Boom! Boom! Boom!
"'Hhhhhhhissssssssss,' hissed snake. 'Isssss there room?'
"'Slide in,' I said. 'At least you're thin.'
"The storm raged with a thunderous din.
"Snake coiled up -- a bit too snug.
"Seven squished folks in a reptile hug."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! has me recalling the squishing in close of Jan Brett's THE MITTEN; the chaotic kitchen hilarity of Anne Miranda's TO MARKET, TO MARKET; the piling up and falling down of CHICKA CHICKA BOOM BOOM; and the old kid's song that goes "Ten in the bed and the little one said 'Roll over, roll over!'"
I've just learned that astraphobia is the fear of thunder and lightning. And being that one of the many benefits of children's literature is that the right story can mitigate a child's fears, this is a really fun one that you should take a look at.
"Sis jumped in with elbows flying --
The bed groaned, AND creaked, AND THEN stopped trying."
On a stormy night, a boy is reading in bed with his teddy bear Fred when the storm starts really amping up. That loud, repeating chorus of FLASH! CRASH! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! is responsible for his being joined, one by one, by the dog, the cat, the guinea pig, the frog, the parrot, the snake, and the sister. Finally, amidst a lovely din of onomatopoeic revelry, the bed collapses, the animals and little sister go scattering, and our main character once again has some elbow room. Out the window, the clouds are clearing and the moon and stars are shining bright as he falls asleep clutching his book that's red and his bear named Fred.
32 pages 978-0-374-30868-1
