Monday, September 27, 2010

Thunder-Boomer by Shutta Crum

Thunder-Boomer by Shutta Crum, illustrated by Carol Thompson

Rating: 3.5 stars

A few days ago an early fall storm passed over our house.  It was a classic: skies got dark in the early afternoon, thunder clapping like crazy, lightning zig-zagging across the sky.  The kids and I decided to go out on our covered porch and watch the storm happen.  We played around for about 15 minutes of the opening of the storm; Lorelei jumped and cheered every time it thundered, and Ben looked around him curiously, with a little alarm.  After it started pouring, we tried to drink some of the rain on our tongues from the top step and held out our hands to catch the raindrops.  We were channeling my husband, at work, who likes to do this exact thing when he's home during a storm.

Contrast that to three months ago, when Lorelei was shuddering in fear at thunder, and I'm pretty impressed at the growth.  Or knowledge?  Or maturity?  I'm not sure what, but three months ago, during the summer storms that come through our area, she was not so bold in the face of Mother Nature.  After one storm that worsened right during dinner, I had to drag her to the tiny spot on our first floor where she couldn't see out the windows.  She settled down to eat, but only after a few minutes of truly fearful crying. 

We started reading books about storms, including this most recent one.  Thunder-Boomer isn't my favorite storm book (I don't have one yet) and it doesn't even show the kids being particularly bold and excited by the storm.  In fact, they all run for cover as soon as the storm hits; the family huddles together and worries, especially when the rain turns to hail.  But, as Lorelei learned over the summer, the storm didn't last long, and the world was fresh and bright and misty afterward.  In the book, they find a tiny kitten that barely made it through the storm.  He's a gift from the storm, they say, and of course they name him "Thunder-Boomer."

I'm glad that Lorelei didn't want a cat after the last storm--she was content just to watch the rain fall and the trees of our woods swirl and whirl above.  Storms are pretty awesome things, and I love that Lorelei and Ben aren't afraid of getting a fairly close-up view of that.  I'm also glad that Lorelei is definitely learning from books--it's such a great habit, and I'm thrilled to help her start

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