Hurricane Wolf

Plot Summary

Hurricane Anna is coming! Noah and his family are getting ready for the storm. First they board up the windows, then they get supplies for the house, like extra food and batteries. They even fill up the bathtub with water for emergency washing and drinking. Finally, they are as ready as they can be.

When the storm comes, it howls like a wolf. Noah watches through a peephole as trees bend, rain shoots sideways, and the roof rattles. By morning, the storm has passed. Noah and his family go outside to look around. Everything is inside-out and upside-down! But Noah’s mom says that they are lucky; they have each other, and everything else can be fixed.

Reviews

“A hurricane is calling at the door. ‘Like the big, bad wolf,” says Noah, the young narrator in Paterson’s rousing and informative story of how to contend with heavy weather….Paterson’s watercolors bevel the storm’s scariness, but she uses the medium well, both as portent—scudding clouds, the wind getting serious, the harbingers of thunder and lightning—and in conveying the pure, unbridled energy of the hurricane…Lots of sound advice salts the story (and is summarized in fact sheets at the end of the book), which will make kids feel less helpless, if in no less awe, before the storm’s brute force.” Kirkus Reviews

"Paterson's watercolor world is bright and tropical. Without being too scary, she presents the facts and the how and why of preparedness....libraries in hurricane-prone areas will want to own this title..." School Library Journal

"...a useful introduction for kids just coming to grips with the notion of hurricanes in their region as well as an explanation for those unlikely to experience such a thing, and it's especially helpful, in light of more tragic hurricane stories, to remind youngsters of the more usual, less devastating hurricane experience." The Bulletin

"An informative, child-centered approach that highlights the importance of adult-child dialogue and provides an opportunity to help children get through a scary experience." Booklist

"Warm, reassuring text and illustrations show how Noah and his parens get ready for the dramatic change in weather caused by a Category 2 hurricane."
The Horn Book Guide

Associated Keywords
storms, weather, hurricanes, rain, katrina, nature, preparations,