Twister

Title: Twister
Author:Darleen Bailey Beard
Illustrated: Nancy Carpenter
Published: Farrar Straus Giroux, New York
Date: 1999
Summary: Two children experience a tornado
Age Level: Primary (Kindergarten to 2nd grade)
Strengths: I really liked how this story was told from a little girl's point of view, and how she tried to be positive during the tornado. In the beginning, Lucille and her brother were on the swing and were pretending to be a king and a queen, and also met their neighbor. When the tornado was approaching, Lucille decribed it like a lion's tail (such an active imagination) and their mother put them in the cellar where they would be safe, while she helped her neighbor get to safety. Lucille's little brother was getting worried, but I liked how Lucille tried to make this scary experience fun by making shadows on the walls, and counting to 103, but deep inside, she was scared as well. This story is a great opportunity to show what to do if a tornado ever hits somewhere (listening to the radio like their mother did, and going down into the cellar). I also liked how even though some things were damaged, their mother and neighbor were safe and they knew how to go on with their lives. The illustrations of this story was beautiful. It was created by oil pastels, and it took up almost all of the pages, but it was so beautiflly drawn that it evoked powerful emotions along with the text.
Concerns: I have no concerns for this book.
Comments; I think this would be good for some of the younger students because it will show them something about nature and what to do in case of an emergency (in this case, a tornado). It will show them how to be safe, how to try to keep a positive mind, but most of all help them learn how to go on with life.