Terrible Storm [Hardcover]

Carol Otis Hurst (Author), S. D. Schindler (Illustrator)

Book Description

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

Have you heard the one about Grandpa walking through three feet of snow—uphill both ways—just to get home when he was a kid?

Well, you haven't heard it like this!

During one sudden and relentless blizzard, lively Walt gets stuck for days in a barn by himself. "Awful!"

Meanwhile, shy Fred is trapped in an inn full of people. "Horrible!"

They both have to dig their way out. "The worst." "You said it."

What a terrible storm! But what a terrific—and funny—story!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3—From their creaky front-porch rocking chairs, Walt (a social butterfly) and Fred (his polar opposite) recall New England's Great Blizzard of 1888, when they were young men. "Eh-yah, didn't think it would amount to much," muses Fred. But it did, and caught both of them unhappily by surprise: shy Fred found himself stuck in a lively, crowded tavern in town, while Walt was forced to take cover alone in his barn. When the snow eventually stopped, and they could finally dig themselves out, the two friends passed each other on the road-one desperate to get out of the bustling pub, the other equally desperate to get in. Schindler's ink-and-watercolor art captures the rolling, leafless, brown-and-gray landscape of Massachusetts in March, and then buries it in dense white snow. The art is infused with period details, from delivering milk in a horse-drawn cart to dinners lit by candlelight. Hurst's call-and-response narrative approach, consisting solely of the old men's terse dialogue, works well with the page layout and captures the rhythms of a story told, back and forth, many times over. A first choice for large collections, and a good supplemental purchase for all others.—Catherine Threadgill, Charleston County Public Library, SC
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* "My grandfathers grew up in the hills around Westfield, Massachusetts, and were friends from the time they were boys." Then personable Grandpa Walt and shy Grandpa Fred, now old men, take over the narrative, recounting the story of the big snow of 1888. At this point, Schindler's sharp, sly art cuts the pages in half, and, telling the tale in tandem, each man describes what happened that day. Walt was chopping wood, and Fred was delivering milk when the storm began. The well-wrought pictures show the snow flying progressively harder across several spreads until the men finally find shelter in the worst place possible given each man's personality--Walt in a lonely barn, and Fred with a houseful of neighbors. The same terse text sometimes relates to both the top and the bottom picture on each page; "Not much of a place to sleep" refers to Walt sleeping on a haystack covered by cats as well as Fred sleeping with a bunch of people who are scattered all over the bedroom. Humor is everywhere, but the funniest pictures show the men shoveling out of the snow, passing one another through the drifts. This lively, clever story, based on a real storm, neatly captures both the oddities of nature and how differing natures view the same event. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books; First Edition edition (January 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060090014
• ISBN-13: 978-0060090012
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,825,296 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars fine author.. great story, September 7, 2009

By 

NancyM (south of Boston) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Terrible Storm (Library Binding)

two young men with completely different ideas of what makes for a great life, live out each other's best times during a blizzard.
we see two different styles surviving a raging blizzard and it's aftermath, until they meet each other on the way to their own homes.later their experiences become part of family lore.
illustrations are vivid and humorous and enhance Hurst's tale. wonderful for kg-4th graders.l

5.0 out of 5 stars This hilarious book gives new meaning to the phrase, "different strokes for different folks!", June 30, 2009

By 

D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Terrible Storm (Hardcover)

Many years ago in Westfield, Massachusetts two boys grew up together. When they grew up and had families they ended up with some of the same grandchildren, one of whom wrote this story. Grandpa Otis (Walt) was a jolly sort of fellow who was happiest when he was in a crowd of people and even happier when he was the center of attention. Grandpa Clark (Fred) was a quiet sort of person who loved being around his cats and making things like birdhouses. This was where his comfort zone lay. When Walt and Fred were old men, they used to sit on the porch and reminisce about the past. Then one day they were talking about "the terrible storm." It was the great blizzard of 1888.

It was a warm day in March, but as everyone knows there can be some terrible storms during that month. They talked about where they were and what they were doing when it hit around the middle of the morning. It came up very fast and the ferocity began to build as the day wore on. "Ey-ah. Came quick when it came all right." The winds began to blow and the horses began to get nervous. They both had to seek shelter as they couldn't get home in a blizzard. Walt, the gregarious boy, got stuck in a barn and Fred, the quiet boy, got stuck in with a load of people who loved to talk up a storm. Well, isn't that the way things go? "Terrible storm, Fred." "Worse one ever, Walt."

This book gives new meaning to the phrase, "different strokes for different folks." This was a story that got even more hilarious by each turn of the page and each snowflake that swirled around the two boys. I read this one to an adult who burst into laughter the further I got into the book. This is one of those books that both children and adults alike will get a kick out of. Ey-ah, if you haven't read this one, you just might have to scout out a copy!