A serviceable title in the “Disaster” series financed in part by the Ontario Arts Council. The author describes several recent hurricanes including “Mitch,” “Hugo,” “Andrew,” and “Floyd,” lists the eight worst hurricanes in the past 500 years, discusses how hurricanes are formed and measured, and interviews scientists who study hurricanes in an effort to help people prepare for them. She includes a few experiments designed to demonstrate concepts described in the text. The impact of the full-color photographs is frequently diminished because of their small size and the decision to border each in a colored box, rather like snapshots in an album. The three-column text is readable, but often abbreviated and amazingly pedestrian given the dramatic content. Describing Hurricane “Mitch,” the author notes: “About 400 crocodiles escaped from a science institute, adding to the danger.” Surely a second sentence could be added to tell the reader what happened. Or, regarding another storm: “About 2000 people were buried in the torrent of mud.” And? The author concludes with a glossary and index. Since it lacks the drama and visual appeal of Patricia Lauber’s Hurricanes (1996) or Seymour Simon’s Storms (1989), this should only be purchased where additional materials are needed. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2002
ISBN: 1-55074-906-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2002
Remarking that ``nothing about the weather is very simple,'' Simon goes on to describe how the sun, atmosphere, earth's rotation, ground cover, altitude, pollution, and other factors influence it; briefly, he also tells how weather balloons gather information. Even for this outstanding author, it's a tough, complex topic, and he's not entirely successful in simplifying it; moreover, the import of the striking uncaptioned color photos here isn't always clear. One passage—``Cumulus clouds sometimes build up into towering masses called cumulus congestus, or swelling cumulus, which may turn into cumulonimbus clouds''—is superimposed on a blue-gray, cloud-covered landscape. But which kind of clouds are these? Another photo, in blue-black and white, shows what might be precipitation in the upper atmosphere, or rain falling on a darkened landscape, or...? Generally competent and certainly attractive, but not Simon's best. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-688-10546-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1993
Miranda’s book counts the monsters gathering at a birthday party, while a simple rhyming text keeps the tally and surveys the action: “Seven starved monsters are licking the dishes./Eight blow out candles and make birthday wishes.” The counting proceeds to ten, then by tens to fifty, then gradually returns to one, which makes the monster’s mother, a purple pin-headed octopus, very happy. The book is surprisingly effective due to Powell’s artwork; the color has texture and density, as if it were poured onto the page, but the real attention-getter is the singularity of every monster attendee. They are highly individual and, therefore, eminently countable. As the numbers start crawling upward, it is both fun and a challenge to try to recognize monsters who have appeared in previous pages, or to attempt to stay focused when counting the swirling or bunched creatures. The story has glints of humor, and in combination with the illustrations is a grand addition to the counting shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201835-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
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