Tornado Terror

Reviewed by: Jill O'Connor - Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School, Brunswick, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: December 13, 2017

Review

Combining her meticulous research skills with her warm, infectious storytelling style, Tarshis tells the story of two of the deadliest tornadoes in American history: the Tri-State Tornado of 1925 and the Joplin Tornado of 2011. With a clear, readable font and plenty of photographic evidence, Tarshis uses personal narratives from each tornado to set the scene of living through a tornado. She also infuses the narrative with plenty of weather facts and explanations about the phenomena of tornadoes. Each narrative is followed up with her research path, her sources, and thought process as she compiles information in preparation to write a book like this informational one, and, in the case of the Joplin Tornado, an "I Survived" book. A fantastic book to capture the interest of dormant readers, to extend the learning of a reader who has already tackled the fictional story, or to use in a classroom setting as a stellar example of nonfiction writing. A must-have for any library collection, even more so if the "I Survived" books are already in the catalogue.

Overall Book Score: very good