Storms

Benjamin Franklin was a great man who was also a founding father of the United States of America and when he was struck by lightning while chasing it, he said it provided:

       “a universal blow throughout my whole body from head to foot, which seemed within as well as without; after which the first thing I took notice of was a violent quick shaking of my body.”

Now imagine being struck by lightning yourself. How do you think it would feel? Would you feel about the same as Franklin did? The book, “Storms” by Seymour Simon provides great detail on lightning and its effects, as well as many other aspects of numerous storms.

          Storms are something that we often encounter, and they are something I have wondered about myself. Seymour examines many different storms like thunderstorms, tornadoes, hailstorms, and hurricanes, while providing a clear understanding of how these storms are formed and their effects on Earth. An excerpt from the book includes, "Each year, there are about 16 million thunderstorms around the world." Another excerpt is, "The final stage of a thunderstorm is the most violent." He not only provides a great deal of information, but also provides twenty full page color pictures of the storms that he talks about.  These vivid, glowing, and stunning pictures will leave you silenced at the beauty of something that can provide significant damage to the Earth as well as to people.

          The ability to connect something that students see in their daily lives to what is being taught, can be very difficult. This book provides that connection and is a great supplement to a science lesson on weather. The beautiful pictures and informational text, will leave your students on the edge of their chairs or rug, depending on where you read the book. If your students read this book alone, they will be captivated by the splendor of the text. This book fulfills many aspects to qualify it to be a part of the science genre because it discusses the physical and natural world through observations and experiments. Through living in Ohio, I know the weather is very volatile and I believe Mark Twain said it best when he said, “Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.”