Hurricane by Jonathon London

The pictures in this book are absolutely gorgeous. They are all hand-painted and are done in watercolors which give them a very relaxed look. The little boy and his brother live in Puerto Rico next to a mountain and he tells the reader about how they swim in the ocean and check for scorpions everyday. This sets up the scene for what Puerto Rico is like. When the boys are swimming, the pictures describe how the sky changes colors from light blue to deep purple to dark black and blue. The pictures become darker and scarier as the story goes on. The trees are swaying and there is lightening in the distance. This is great for kids who have no idea what a hurricane is or what damage it can do. The author describes that his family had to drive almost underwater. When they are in the shelter with other people from the community, they begin to sing silent night. The author puts it in Spanish to let the reader know that many people in Puerto Rico speak Spanish. After the storm is over, the family goes back to their home and have to clean up. They are lucky that they did not lose everything. I think that this is a good book to use when teaching about hurricanes because it somewhat sugar coats all the really terrible things that come from such a horrendous storm. This would also be a good book to use in order to bring in other cultures and backgrounds to the classroom.