Review by Booklist Review
With tornadoes so much in the news, this book offers valuable information. Two of the four chapters describe deadly twisters in the U.S., while the others discuss the science and predictability of tornadoes. Throughout, there are first-person accounts, including those from meteorologists and the vivid memories of survivors who experienced the violent storms. Besides the stunning photos of funnel clouds and devastated communities, the book's visual content includes a diagram of winds within a forming tornado, large maps of tornadoes in the U.S. and worldwide, and scenes showing weather scientists and their equipment. A glossary, a list of 21 people interviewed, a source bibliography, and lists of recommended books and Internet sites are appended. Excellent color photos make this book a magnet for browsers, while the informative text and diagrams bring meaning to the images and provide content that students will find helpful for reports.--Phelan, Caroly. Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-A welcome and popular addition on a topic that always needs updating. Like many other general surveys, this narrative contains eye-witness accounts, old newspaper headlines, and lists of the worst tornadoes in U.S. history. Without the gimmicks of the foldout pages of Mary Kay Carson's Inside Tornadoes (Sterling, 2010), the intensity and power of these brief but deadly storms are shown in large color photographs, drawings, and diagrams. While there are similarities in design-text and text boxes at a modest slant as in Cynthia Pratt Nicolson's Tornado! (Kids Can, 2003)-the authors' use of National Geographic's scrapbooklike graphics with text boxes looking like torn and windblown pieces of paper is engaging. The updating of the tornado rating system known as the Enhanced Fujita (EF) makes earlier works slightly outdated, although this season's tornadoes make even this work almost outdated. A two-page global map of tornado locations and intensities is included.-Frances E. Millhouser, formerly at Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
A combination of eyewitness stories and excellent, at times chilling, color photographs of tornadoes and the damage they can cause provide a captivating account of recent and historical tornado activity in the United States. The emphasis here is on witnessing the forces of nature and the technology of storm chasing, rather than explaining the underlying science. The accompanying diagrams could be better labeled. Reading list, websites. Bib., glos., ind. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
