“When Nature Attacks: Extreme Hurricanes and Tornadoes” by John Farndon explains how destructive and powerful hurricanes and tornadoes can be. Aimed at kids in grades 3 through 6, every page has bright photographs and graphics and interesting facts. Did you know that birds can potentially hear tornadoes coming with their ultra-sensitive hearing? Scientists tracked golden-winged warblers that left their nests a day before a tornado struck and a few days later they returned safely! The book lists the most deadly, expensive, biggest, and strongest storms in history. Kids who enjoy learning facts that they can share and about potentially scary and powerful things (dinosaurs, sharks, earthquakes, etc.) will enjoy this book.

Farndon explains how hurricanes and tornadoes form and gives several examples of devastating storms. He includes mentions about Doppler science, storm tracking, and clearly explains the differences between the categories of hurricanes and the scale of tornadoes. The book doesn’t go into great depth, but provides a nice overview of the storms to spark interest in kids who read it. There is an Index in the back, but no glossary or bibliography. Not a must-buy unless you have a need for more juvenile non-fiction about weather.

Reviewed by Kate Radke, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook