Hurricanes (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Hurricanes are one of three kinds of storms called tropical cyclones..." (more)
Key Phrases: United States, North Carolina, Gulf of Mexico

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3–5—An updated edition of Simon's 2003 title, this book presents a definition and etymology of the term, descriptions of tropical storms, the names of significant disasters, the formation and behavior of hurricanes, and the resulting storm surges. A passage on the Saffir-Simpson scale presents accounts and photos of the damage of the five categories. A closing section deals with forecasting, warnings, and precautions. The changes since the original include the addition of the Australian term for hurricanes; the replacement of a passage on Hurricane Andrew (1992) with coverage of Katrina (2005), with Andrew replacing Opal (1995) as an example of a Category 4 hurricane; deletion of a passage warning that New Orleans is potentially in danger of a serious hurricane; two replacement photos; and new cover art featuring the Smithsonian logo. This is a typical Simon effort, with readable text and excellent photos.—Jeffrey A. French, formerly at Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library, Willowick, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-4. Pairing a simply phrased narrative with arresting, eye-catching color photos, Simon explains what hurricanes are and imparts a vivid sense of their destructive potential. After introducing hurricanes (and their lesser cousins, tropical storms and tropical depressions), he describes how the storms develop and are rated on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale and supplies recent examples before closing with advice for readers who might find themselves in a hurricane's path. The uncaptioned illustrations include satellite photos, ground-level scenes of flooded streets, computer enhanced radar images, and shots of storm victims being rescued. The lack of an index or further resources may hamper assignment-driven children, but like most of Simon's other work, this is unsurpassed for kindling interest in a scientific subject and communicating an understanding of its scope and significance. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1 edition (August 12, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688162916
• ISBN-13: 978-0688162917
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 9.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,135,642 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book for the elementary-age set, September 29, 2009

By	HeatherHH - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hurricanes (Paperback)

This book was purchased as a gift for my 8-year-old son who is very interested in natural disasters. I read it aloud to him and to my 6-year-old daughter, both of whom enjoyed it.

The text is very thorough in explaining how hurricanes develop, the categories of hurricanes, how they are predicted, and how to be safe when a hurricane threatens. Hurricane terms are defined in text, but other difficult words that are less central to the narrative are defined in the glossary in the back (e.g. moorings). It is this more challenging vocabulary that makes this book a read-aloud in the lower elementary years, so that an adult can explain challenging vocabulary. A child would probably need at least a 4th grade reading level to have reasonable understanding on their own. My son reads on a 5th grade level and can understand most of it by himself, except for the odd word. My daughter reads on a 2nd grade level and would be lost by herself. I homeschool and think it's critical to be reading aloud a lot to children in this age range, so it's not a big deal to me. But, this wouldn't be a good book to buy and expect to just hand over to the average 4 to 8-year-old it's recommended for.

Each two page spread is half photograph. In general the photos were very interesting and illustrated the power of a hurricane, but one or two of them were somewhat blurred as if the picture had been blown up too big. I'm sure they could have found other pictures that were sharp and detailed (one depicted aftermath, not hurricane itself), but it's not that big a deal. The kids probably won't even notice.

I would definitely recommend this book on hurricanes. It's extremely thorough and educational for adults as well as children. I have also read the author's book on Tornadoes, which was good as well, so I'd recommend his books in general. As a side note, this book was updated in 2007 and does mention Hurricane Katrina.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars my child loves it!, June 1, 2008

By	Jessica Barr "Jesslb" (Cape Cod, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Hurricanes (Paperback)

There are tons of pictures and alot of information and it's suitable for some younger children

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book, June 26, 2006

By	M. Guzzo - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this book for my son who has taken an interest in hurricanes and he loved it. He enjoys looking at the pictures and has learned alot about hurricanes.