CLOUDS OF TERROR

Coping with a plague of grasshoppers on the Minnesota prairie in the 1870s. Helga and her brother are fishing when they become aware of an odd cloud approaching with a ``strange deep hum.'' The story follows their initial horror; their futile effort to help their parents save the garden; and winter without Father, who works in a lumber camp to tide them over. A year later new grasshoppers hatch but move on without laying eggs. The authentic details here carry a simple narrative that's sure to fascinate young readers. Johnson's realistic watercolors aren't distinguished but give a good sense of the setting. Historical note. (Easy reader. 5-9)