The Bravest of Us All (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Brad Sneed (Illustrator) "Velma Jean could walk barefoot cross the sandbur patch that lay between the house and the barn, just like she was strollin' through a green..." (more)
Key Phrases: horse tank, storm cellar, Velma Jean, Cowskin Creek, Ruby Jane

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-A simple story told with the authenticity of oft-told family history is set in flat, Midwestern farm country (ostensibly Kansas) in an indeterminate time that appears to be the 1920s. Velma Jean is the boldest of all her brothers and sisters, unafraid of breaking colts, of meeting strangers, even of the fierce bull, Alfred. By comparison, her admiring sister Ruby Jane feels quite ordinary. "Somehow, bein' the best kitchen helper wasn't near as exciting as bein' the bravest." But Velma Jean harbors a secret, which is revealed when a tornado brews, and the family must seek shelter in the root cellar. Velma Jean is afraid to be cooped up underground, and it is Ruby Jane who has the courage to go after her sister and urge her to safety. The watercolor illustrations set the scene in a slack and windy style. The children are depicted as skinny and loose-limbed as rag dolls, playing around the horse tank in view of the windmill and sorting through Mama's buttons in the pickle crock. Told in a folksy vernacular that relies a bit too heavily on dropped affixes ('cause, nothin', starvin'), the plot seems as predictable as the iconic sunflowers and the wind. That said, however, the story is not without flavor and may be of particular interest for family-history units.
Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Like George Ella Lyon's One Lucky Girl , Darlene Beard's Twister (1999), and many of the other tornado and hurricane books recently published, this picture book connects the terror of the storm with a family story of courage and love. Ruby Jane remembers her childhood on a small farm, where times are hard (sometimes dinner is "a mite meager"), but she feels safe at home. She admires her big sister, Velma Jean, who seems scared of nothing. But then Ruby Jane discovers her sister's secret fear. When the big tornado comes, Velma Jean isn't afraid of the funnel cloud; she's afraid of being shut in the storm cellar with its dark corners. It's Ruby Jane who must help her older sister through her fear and coax her to take shelter. Sneed's watercolors, filled with light and motion, are less effective in the slightly skewed close-ups of the children's faces than in the wind-swept double-page spreads of farm and sky. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Dial; 1st edition (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803724098
• ISBN-13: 978-0803724099
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #792,326 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bravest of Us All, December 27, 2001

By	Roberta E. Ciskey (Bethel, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This author is amazing. Not only are her books a pleasure to read, but they also contain heartwarming messages. Any child afraid of storms would be comforted by this story.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sisters and tornadoes, February 18, 2001

By A Customer

Here's a nice story of how the seemingly fearless sister needs help from one of her siblings in the face of a dangerous tornado. To escape the tornado the family needs to take shelter in the storm cellar, but that's the one thing that gives the "fearless" one pause. I particularly liked the illustrations and thought that the long-legged children fit in well with the depression-era names and scenes.

5.0 out of 5 stars My 6 yr. old loves it!, January 3, 2007

By	A King (Overland Park, KS) - See all my reviews

We bought this after Brad Sneed, the illustrator, visited my oldest daughter's school. My preschooler, who is now 6, fell in love with this book. We read it every night for several weeks. She has a fascination with the tornado. She decided that she is "the bravest of us all." And we still call her that to this day.