SUPER STORMS by: Seymour Simon

Bibliography
Simon, Seymour. 2002. SUPER STORMS. New York, NY: SeaStar Books. ISBN 1587171376.

Plot Summary
This book is about storms. We start the book with a basic definition of storms. The text then moves on to discuss thunderstorms with brief descriptions of lightning, thunder, and hail. After a lengthy section on thunderstorms, the author briefly discusses tornados, hurricanes, and blizzards.

Critical Analysis
Seymour Simon has created an informational book to provide an overview of different kinds of storms including thunderstorms, hurricanes, and blizzards in a photo essay format. He has chosen full-page photographs to illustrate the text and show the power and/or destruction of these super storms. Simon also produced a bibliography on the back of the title page to provide bibliographic information for all the photos in the book.

The author was a science teacher before he became an author and uses his knowledge of the subject to create scientific informational books for children. This particular book was written for growing readers in grades 1-3. The format of the book makes it easy to read, like a story, but also has distinctions that allow the reader to only read one section (for example, just the section on hurricanes). There are no page numbers, subject headings, or an index to help the reader but the format is easily understood if the book is skimmed.

This book is a great introduction to super storms providing information and statistics that are combined with full-page photographes to illustrate the information from the text. My only problem with this book is that the author has provided ver specific statistics, but has not provided sources for this information. While I know the information is probably correct because of the reputation of the author, I would have like to see his sources.

Review Excerpts
*I could not find any reputable reviews for this particular book, but I was able to find a couple of reviews of the series.
KIRKUS REVIEWS: "Seymour Simon may have done more than any other living author to help us to understand and appreciate our planet and our universe."
BOOKLIST: "With brief, accessible text, engaging topics and a perforated page of collectible cards, Seymour Simon's SeeMore Readers series will rope in even the most reluctant readers."

Connections
*Complete an author study or display that gives information on the author and other books that he has written to create interest in this genre.
*Read this book as an overview and make his books on each individual topic (ie TORNADOS and HURRICANES both by Seymour Simon) to give children the opportunity to further study a type of storm.
*Have students look up a particular storm (ie Hurricane Katrina) and have them list some facts from the storm so they can see how powerful these super storms can be.