Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Brief, rhyming, onomatopoeic verse tells the slight story of three small children who observe a thunderstorm from the second story of their country home. "Raindrops beat/A steady sound-/Tat. Tat. Tap./Pitter, pat,/POUND!" When the lights go out, "Mom sings songs to quiet fear," and, when the children get hungry, she pops corn on the gas stove. The youngsters snooze until the "Storm soon roams/Across the hill-/Hum.hum.um./Sprinkle.SPLASH./Still." Digitally rendered cartoon illustrations depict characters smartly attired in fashionable, casual clothing. Very young children will enjoy the wordplay. Shutta Crum's Thunder-Boomer! (Clarion, 2009) depicts a farm family during a summer storm; the richly descriptive narrative is infused with onomatopoeia. Older children may enjoy John Rocco's Blackout (Hyperion, 2011), a powerful example of spare text paired with evocative illustrations that show the individual and collective events of family members in Brooklyn when the lights go out.-Laura Scott, Farmington Community Library, MI (c) Copyright 2013. 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 family waits out a summer thunderstorm, singing comforting songs, making snacks, and snuggling on the couch until it passes. Garish colors, contrived rhymes and onomatopoeia ("Popcorn sits / Near fiery heat-- / Plip. Plip. Pop. / Crackle, crunch, EAT"), and generic digital art make for a less-than-memorable picture book. (c) Copyright 2014. 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.
