Ohio Thunder [Hardcover]

Denise Dowling Mortensen (Author), Kate Kiesler (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

ZAP!
One hundred million volts.
Cloud to ground advancing bolts.

Lyrical verse and stunning illustrations vividly bring to life the speed and drama of a summer storm on a midwestern farm. Gorgeous paintings depict blackened skies above vast stretches of farmland, long tracts of tall corn, and brightly colored barns, but also add subtext to the story, showing two farm boys and their father reacting to the sudden shift in the weather. This remarkable pairing of word and pictures conveys a sense of wonder about the natural world and makes for a picture book any child who has ever been frightened by a storm will respond to.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2 As members of a farm family go about their chores on a sweltering summer day, they see a thunderstorm developing in the distance. The menacing black wall and intense lightning force the two children and their father to take shelter in the barn. After strong winds and hail come sunshine and a gentle breeze. Blackbirds return to the cornfields, and Mother watches from the house as the rest of the family heads back outdoors. Mortensen uses short lines of verse to convey movement and intensity as the storm develops. Eerie calm,/tractor crawl./Bright red roof,/thick black wall. Anyone who has watched similar storms approach will appreciate Kiesler's illustrations. The double-page oil paintings capture the ever-darkening sky and ominous clouds. Lightning bolts and drenching rains give way to a final vision of a rainbow arching above the house. Although the title and text reference Ohio, readers across the Midwest and Great Plains will recognize the scenario. While not an essential purchase, the book could serve as an effective read-aloud to spark discussions about weather or ways to deal with storms and the fears they might evoke. Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 3. Mortensen tells the story of a thunderstorm moving across an Ohio farm in succinct, rhymed couplets that punctuate each shift in the weather with a swift metaphor or a jab of sensation: "Marble hail / pelting crops. / Goosebump shiver, / icy drops." The laconic text recalls the experience of a storm through sight, scent, sound, and touch. Kiesler's oil paintings are more convincing in depicting the farm than the people living there, but the artwork as a whole is as evocative as the verse, and the illustrations of the landscape and stormy sky are compelling. Created with confident, expressive brushstrokes, the paintings show the farm darkened by the impending thunderstorm, assailed by its full force, and brightened after it moves away. Good for reading aloud, this fine picture book chronicles the passage of a powerful storm in words and pictures that create a mood as well as describe events. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books (May 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618595422
• ISBN-13: 978-0618595426
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 9.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,291,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing pictures, enthralling text., March 3, 2011

By 

Rachel Alter (Palm Beach County, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ohio Thunder (Hardcover)

I work with an autistic child who is not very emotionally expressive, but when we read this book he is almost giddy with happiness. It draws you in with the gorgeous paintings, and the language really pulls you into the scene. We love this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars New Favorite, February 25, 2011

By 

emberstar - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ohio Thunder (Hardcover)

I am so happy with this purchase. The illusrations are amazing and the poetry is so descriptive it makes you feel like you are in Ohio experiencing the awesome nature show for yourself. I love reading it to my baby and it will be my favorite for the rest of my life. I don't know why there are not more reviews for this, as I think it should be a topselling award winner. " Nanosecond, Lightning Flash, One one-thousand-- thunder Crash"
"Downpour slowing, clouds run dry. Lightning flickers, brightening sky." Love this!

5.0 out of 5 stars For those from Ohio..., May 9, 2009

By 

J. Bellucci (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ohio Thunder (Hardcover)

My daughter was born in Ohio and what I remember most about our time there is the storms that would pass through...this book brings back memories of my time there...grey skies...rollin' thunder...its a must have for those that remember these storms...but for those not from Ohio it might be a little boring. I'd recommend it for 3+ as my 2.5 year old still isn't all that into it...