Tsunami: Helping Each Other [Library Binding]

Ann Morris (Author), Heidi Larson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6–A profusely illustrated account of the experiences of two brothers, Chaiya and Chaipreak, ages 8 and 12, in their Thai village during and after the December 2004 tsunami. Less focused on an explanation of a tsunami than most other books, the authors present a more personalized description of the disaster and its effect on its victims by tracing the boys' experiences as they survive disaster; reunite with their mother; learn of the loss of their father, home, and school; and eventually move into a temporary shelter and return to a makeshift school. Vividly depicting the tragedy and relief efforts, the outstanding color photos contrast the area before the tsunami with the sights victims encountered during and immediately after the event, and even into the beginnings of recovery. While briefer than John Albert Torres's Disaster in the Indian Ocean, Tsunami 2004 (Mitchell Lane, 2005), this book offers superior illustrations and demonstrates more personally the effect of the tragedy on its victims.–Jeffrey A. French, Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library, Willowick, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4. Though this photo-essay chases the heels of many quicker-to-press titles about the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, it offers a more personalized look at the disaster than most. Illustrating a carefully modulated text with a mix of stock images and Larson's own photos, the coauthors filter the devastating facts through the experiences of two brothers, ages 12 and 8, living in Khao Lak, Thailand. The boys' fearsome ordeal is never soft-pedaled (readers learn that their father perished in the surge), but there is equal focus on a more heartening phase of the aftermath, centered on the rebuilding of the children's school. The organization of the photos and text sometimes feels chaotic, and the narrative would have benefited from direct quotes from the children. But readers concerned about disasters in faraway places (or closer to home) may respond better to this treatment than broader overviews, which rarely show such concrete, measurable progress within a specific community. Partial proceeds from sales of the book will go toward a relief fund. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Library Binding: 32 pages
• Publisher: Lerner Publications (September 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761395016
• ISBN-13: 978-0761395010
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 10.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,747,654 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Disaster Preparedness

More About the Author

Ann Morris's many books include Families, Bread Bread Bread, Hats Hats Hats, On the Go, and Loving. She lives in New York City. As a children's book writer, Ann Morris has been able to successfully integrate her varied experiences in teaching young children, travel, writing, and editing. Having grown up in the polyglot public schools of New York City, where each child's ethnic heritage was revealed by his name or by the contents of the lunch box from home filled with sausages, egg rolls, matzos, or pizza, she developed a strong Interest In cultures other than her own. "I'm a gypsy by nature," she says. "I always have my suitcase packed."
She and photographer Ken Heyman once traveled across the United States to document the lives often different families. Both she and the teacher's pupils liked the snake charmer/teacher who taught class in a circus trailer with her favorite boa around her neck. Although Ms. Morris has never tried this stunt he herself, she has taught children in public and private schools in New York City, and adults at Bank Street College, Columbia Teachers College, New York University, and Queens College of the City University of New York. More recently she has been teaching writing for children at The New School.
Ann Morris left teaching to become editorial director of Scholastic's early childhood department. Now she devotes her professional time to writing and all her other time to people watching, music in any and all Forms, cat care, cooking and eating, and travel. All of these experiences, she says, provide material for her books.
In Israel Ms. Morris was caught up in the enchantment of the place as well as the conflicts that are a consequence of its history. One of her books, When Will They Stop Fighting? (Atheneum), reflects her concern about children who have become the victims of these conflicts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A picturebook about the real-life tragedy of the tsunami that devastated Asia and killed thousands of people, February 13, 2006

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tsunami: Helping Each Other (Library Binding)

Tsunami: Helping Each Other is a picturebook about the real-life tragedy of the tsunami that devastated Asia and killed thousands of people. Author Ann Morris and Unicef's senior communication adviser Heidi Larson asked themselves, what happened to the families that survived? How had the children's lives changed? In search of answers, they traveled to Thailand, which had 5,000 confirmed tsunami deaths and another 2,900 still missing. They visited families and temporary schools, and saw the work that international agencies and relief teams were doing to help people get on with their lives. Illustrated throughout with full-color photographs, Tsunami: Helping Each Other is not about the destruction of a natural tragedy, but rather the positive influence that human beings can have on one another, and the hope they can spread, when they come together to rebuild, help the living, and pay tribute to those who have passed on. Highly recommended.