#9 Three Recommended Ebooks

   
     Let's consider three ebooks for kids about tornadoes. The first is new (2012), the second is older (1986), and the third was first published in 1900.  I have no illustrations to offer here without violating copyright laws, but please look these up on Amazon.com or BN.com.

*****  

     The Storm Makers (2012) by Jennifer E. Smith is a children's science fiction tale about a boy who as the power to control weather.  It is illustrated by Brett Helquist who also illustrated Blue Balliett's Calder Game, Chasing Vermeer, and The Wright 3.   


     The Storm Makers is available from Amazon for their Kindles, and Barnes and Noble offer it for their Nook devices.  Both companies sell the ebook for $9.99.


     I liked it.  The subject of our changing weather patterns is a current one, and one that is worthy of some thought and discussion.

*****

     Night of the Twisters: The Most Dangerous Night of Their Lives... is based on a 1980 disaster in Nebraska.  The book was first published in 1986 by Ivy Ruckman.  


     It also offers you the opportunity to try Amazon's Audible Audio system for some of their Kindles, iPhones, and Androids, and Amazon.com sells it for $9.95. The text is unabridged (complete and not a summary), and it is read to the audience by a professional who sounds like the main character.  


     I find this is a legitimate reading experience considering the fact that I did "Read-aloud" nearly every day in my fourth-grade classroom, and many of my students liked to read along in their own books as I read to them.

     Night of the Twister: The Most Dangerous Night of Their Lives... is a powerful story and very well written.

*****     

     My last suggestion is a classic.  The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published by L. Frank Baum in 1900.  Some of the Amazon Kindle editions are free because it is now more than one hundred years old and is a "public domain" book.  I noticed that both Barnes and Noble and Amazon also offer a Complete Wizard of Oz Collection for less than a dollar.  L. Frank Baum wrote about fifteen "Oz" books. 


     It is always interesting for children to read the original words of a story with which they are familiar from a movie.  


     I strongly suggest keeping a list of things that are the same and those that are different from these two art forms.  This supports a critical reading/thinking skill called "compare and contrast".

     Next time I will recommend some historical fiction for kids.


     Until then, keep reading...