What do you do when a big and powerful storm is coming?
What do you do when the wind howls as loud as a train?
What do you do when a blizzard covers your trees and sidewalks with piles and piles of ice and snow?
Our weather can be big and powerful and scary. But the most wonderful thing is that you are big and powerful too.
This is a magnificent story about hurricanes and tornadoes and blizzards and wildfires and all the extreme weather events that show up these days. It's magnificent because it talks about what you can do when you are scared and it's magnificent because it empowers every child to know that he/she/they are strong and powerful too. It's magnificent because it shows every child how much good is in the world around them even when it's scary and it teaches how they can make even more good be there through kindness.
It's okay to be scared...such important words...
This is the perfect read aloud for these times of a pandemic and disruption. Should be a first purchase for every school and public library. We can all use a little comfort right now.
32 pages 978-0593222751 Ages 3-9
Keywords: fears, comfort, reassurance, weather, forest fires, hurricanes, tornado, blizzard, emotions, 3 year old, 4 year old, 5 year old, 6 year old, 7 year old, 8 year old, 9 year old, resilience, empowerment, disasters
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
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A tornado, a blizzard, a forest fire, and a hurricane are met, in turn, with resilience and awe in this depiction of nature's power and our own.
In the face of our shifting climate, young children everywhere are finding themselves subject to unfamiliar and often frightening extreme weather. Beloved author Jane Yolen and her daughter Heidi Stemple address four distinct weather emergencies (a tornado, a blizzard, a forest fire, and a hurricane) with warm family stories of finding the joy in preparedness and resilience. Their honest reassurance leaves readers with the message: nature is powerful, but you are powerful, too. Illustrated in rich environmental tones and featuring additional information about storms in the back, this book educates, comforts, and empowers young readers in stormy or sunny weather, and all the weather in between.---from the publisher
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Beautiful artwork that mirrors four forces of nature: tornados, hurricanes, wildfires and blizzards is paired with gentle family bonding moments like playing cards in the basement, roasting marshmallows and hot dogs, picking wildflowers and visiting cousins quiet the storms. The weather is powerful, dangerous and unpredictable. Mother/daughter authors Yolen and Stemple remind parents and young readers the storms will pass and skies will clear. The constant throughout the story is the family unit staying together and comforting the children.
"It's okay to be scared..." the book teaches because YOU are powerful like the weather. YOU are strong, wild and fierce and like the storm, you are the calm.
Well-done! I Am the Storm will be a favorite read aloud book for any family who lives in areas that experience fierce weather.
Highly recommended! Fans of Yolen's work will love this book!
Recommended by: Pamela Thompson, Librarian, Author, Blogger, Florida USA
See more of her recommendations: https://booksbypamelathompson.blogspot.com/2021/
