Book In Review

        Seymour Simon wrote the book, Hurricanes, for his grandchildren.  This book is a complete book about what hurricanes are, how they are formed, what happens when they form and what to do to protect yourself when you know that one is coming to your area.

         After hurricane Katrina’s devastation, the news was plastered with all of the trauma that those who lived in the area had to deal with.  Children watching any kind of television were exposed to all sorts of horrors; they were left feeling vulnerable and fearful.  The fear that those news reports inspired caused untold trauma for a whole generation of children. 

        However, people need to understand the danger that these types of storms can unleash.  It is best to be informed and prepared when faced with a possible hurricane.

        This book explains things in a non-threatening way.  It is very informative and the pictures realistically show the damage.  I believe the book also empowers children and adults into understanding that; while we can’t control the forces of nature, there are things that a person can do to help themselves when faced with an unpredictable hurricane.  I very much enjoyed learning from this book.

       A couple of very interesting facts i learned included the knowledge that hurricanes can last days or weeks, every second… a large hurricane releases the energy of 10 atomic bombs,and, hurricane weather forecasts can save lives.  I also learned that even after a hurricane passes the danger is not done; flooding occurs for quite a time even once the actual hurricane has moved on.  Hurricane season starts in June and goes until the end of November.

       Also included in this book was a link to the national weather service radios; it can be found at:  www.weather.gov/nwr/.  Communication is very important during this time; and, the radios can help prevent a family from becoming more endangered by allowing them to get information from the authorities.

        Another source of information can be found at the National Hurricane Center, their website is:  www.nhc.noaa.gov/.

         The book Hurricanes was copyrighted in 2003 & 2007; it was published by HarperCollins Children’s Books a division of, HarperCollins Publishers.  Their website is :  www.harpercollinschildrens.com.