Read the Storm!

Storms of all sorts are part of life, but the books I'm featuring in this post are about those caused by extreme weather. 

Storm Warning, a middle grade novel based on real events by Elizabeth Raum. Raum lived the setting of this book--1997 Red River Valley flooding in North Dakota. Her main character, 12-year-old North, is put to the test when he and his 6-year-old sister, Wild Rose (dad didn't like ordinary names) are left alone at home as flood waters rise and freeze. They rely on everything they've ever learned and their own creativity to rescue their great-grandmother and keep everyone safe. Subplots involve family dynamics, especially North's desire to earn his dad's approval and his relationship with his sister. An exciting read for young people! This book is published by Reycraft Books and available in hardback or paperback. 

I Am the Storm, a picture book written by Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple and illustrated by Kristen Howdeshell, is the perfect book about storms for young people. It doesn't flinch from describing the storm, but offers comfort and empowerment to endure and overcome fear. Tornadoes, blizzards, wildfires, and hurricanes put people in danger, but after the description of each,we read that storms always end ("When the forests cooled, as wildfires always do") and what to do after. Illustrations show diverse families dealing with the various storms during and after, and back matter gives information about each of these storms written for a child's understanding.

Here's hoping these books give you and the kids in your life encouragement for facing storms. For now, I hope you enjoy a "bright, bright sunshiny day."

International Book Lovers Day: Travel with ResQ!

You may be one of many disappointed people who had to cancel travel plans this year, but we can still travel via books. And what better book to celebrate International Book Lovers Day than with Eva J. Pell's middle grade novel, ResQ Takes on the Takhi, released this June by Tumblehome Books, which specializes in STEM books for kids?  Pell's extensive science background, including her position as Under Secretary for Science at the Smithsonian Insitute, informs her writing. 

Where are we going with the ResQ crew? Mongolia! ResQ is formally comprised of eleven-year-old inventor, Wheaton and his cousin, twelve-year-old naturalist, Stowe. They are accompanied on this adventure by their photographer grandmother, Ariella, who has contacts in Mongolia.

Batar from Mongolia calls to ask ResQ to help round up a stray band of takhi, Mongolian wild horses, and bring them back into the national park where they belong. Wheaton's inventions, Stowe's knowledge of nature, Ariella's wisdom and familiarity with the culture, and the help of their Mongolian hosts give readers an imaginative adventure. 

In joining ResQ's search for the takhi, readers learn Mongolian culture, language, climate, and geography. But Pell isn't writing a textbook. She vividly describes each scene, so that readers feel that they are part of the adventure. Wheaton and Stowe apply critical thinking, Wheaton's inventions, and what's at hand to conduct their mission. Pell amps up the suspense by making this mission time-sensitive. With a blizzard swirling around them, Wheaton and Stowe get separated from their Mongolian guide. How will they survive? Will they get reunited? Will they bring the takhi back to the park? Drawings by Alexa Lindauer enhance the text and show, among other things, what a Mongolian blizzard might be like.

I won't give any spoilers, but I will tell you this--I'd love to have a Dynochute, one of Wheaton's inventions, and I thank Eva J. Pell for an advanced reader copy of this book.

If Mongolia and the takhi don't interest you, maybe you'd like to try ResQ's first adventure--ResQ and the Baby Orangutan, which will take you to Borneo. 

With books, you can go anywhere!