When it comes to nonfiction, there are some publishers and series that I know I can count on. National Geographic definitely fits into that category. The books are attractive, with visuals engage even the most dubious reader. The writing is strong and interesting. The information is accurate. There are lots of terrific nonfiction tools- headings, charts, graphs, maps, glossary, etc.- that kids need to be able to use. This week, some new books from National Geographic arrived in my mailbox. The first one on the stack, TORNADO! THE STORY BEHIND THESE TWISTING, TURNING, SPIRALLING AND SPINNING STORMS is one I will be using at school today.
TORNADOES, aimed at intermediate grade or middle school readers (but you know I will be leaving it on the kitchen table for my high school guys to find!) is divided into four sections. The first, "An Emergency Situation" tells the story of a tornado that struck Greensburg, Kansas, in May, 2007, destroying 95% of the town and killing 11 people. The second chapter, "Nature's Most Violent Storms," contains lots of terrific tools- gorgeous photographs, a diagram of how tornadoes form, a chart of the Fujita Scale (this measures the strength of tornadoes), a map of common tornado sites in the United States, a sidebar article about why tornadoes are often accompanied by hail, and a pictoral dictionary of some common tornado terms.
The third chapter, "Killer Storms," tells the stories of some of the deadliest U.S. tornadoes. The last chapter, "Twister Prediction" explains the science involved in predicting tornadoes, including a really amazing two page spread of 25 photographs of a tornado passing over a weather probe camera in South Dakota. End tools include a glossary, list of additional print and web resources, messages from a tornado survivor and a scientist, and a bibliography and index.
A terrific and very timely new resource!
Review copy provided by publisher
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