Zap! Clap! Boom!

December 1, 2022

Gr 2-4-Watching a thunderstorm roll into town holds a certain frisson of excitement. There's an edge of danger, measured against the joy of the pitter-patter on hot ground. Salas captures the anticipation and joy in a storm, contrasting the exuberance of children dancing in the rain against the darkest, scariest parts of the thunder. MacKay's dreamy illustrations, mostly in effective spreads, allow readers to fall into the world of this weather. The book is a perfect read-aloud; smart word choices make short rhymes ebb and flow with the storm: "Wind blows fiercely, howls and shrieks. The world groans slowly, shivers, creaks." The "zap" and "clap" of it all will hold the attention of very young children, but the delicious adjectives will contribute to everyone's vocabulary. Don't miss the thunder science section at the end-a gift. Salas writes with whimsy even when detailing scientific reactions. VERDICT A lovely, vocabulary-stretching, story-hour gift for a cozy day.-Cat McCarrey

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2022
The buildup and arrival of a wild thunderstorm offers both eye-widening drama and lessons in atmospheric phenomena. Three gracefully posed children, the eldest slightly darker-skinned than the younger pair, and a trio of goats cavort over island hills until a squall rises in the distance and sweeps violently in before they then venture outside again to enjoy a world made "dazzling, / sparkling, / fresher." Blending paper collage and digital paint, MacKay artfully captures the changing light on steep meadows as a "blue-forever day" gradually darkens under heavy, windswept clouds that "hover over, / tower, / loom, / then... // ZAP! CLAP! BOOM!" before at last melting away to leave a sunny, washed world. For the story behind the storm, Salas switches from free verse to prose in the backmatter to explain in specific detail how cumulus clouds, various kinds of lightning, and thunder are produced before closing with leads to useful weather-related sites, books, and even time-lapse videos on the web. Arthur Geisert's Thunderstorm (2013) portrays a more massive tempest as a rural catastrophe; here, the swirling wind, torrential rain, and crashes of lightning are seen as a safely exciting but brief interlude in an otherwise serene setting. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A crashing success. (selected sources) (Informational picture book. 6-9)

COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2023
"No wind, / No rain, / No stormy sky." Three children kick a bright red ball across the sloping island landscape. As they search for their ball amidst the bushes, though, they look up to see darkening clouds and the sound of "whispering leaves / in newborn / winds." A sudden storm strikes -- "ZAP! CLAP! BOOM!" -- sending the children running as lightning strikes in the distance. The downpour begins while they gleefully leap through the showers on the way to find shelter. Nearly as soon as it began, the storm moves away and the island shines anew, "washed by water pressure." MacKay's intricate layered-paper illustrations (with lightning and rain added digitally) capture the way the storm touches every part of the island: vegetation bowing from the wind and heavy rain, ocean waters churning, and the children's hair whipping through the electrified air. Salas's onomatopoeic verse conveys both the ferocity of a thunderstorm and the wonder it can inspire; it begs to be read aloud, if only for that satisfying "Zap! Clap! Boom!" refrain. Back matter provides the science behind the components of a thunderstorm and shares the author's childhood delight in afternoon storms. Grace McKinney

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from January 1, 2023
Preschool-Grade 1 *Starred Review* It's a sunny morning. From a cluster of houses on a hilltop, three children make their way downward, watching puffy, white clouds form above them and listening to the breeze that begins to rustle the leaves. As the clouds grow taller and darker, the wind picks up. Rain begins to fall, and the children run for home, while goats take shelter in a shed. "Thunder rumbles. / When it comes, / it rolls, / it stomps, / it rattles, / drums. // A crackling, grumbling / sound of doom, / then . . . // ZAP! / CLAP! / BOOM!" After the storm passes, all is calm and cleaner, fresher. The narrative evokes the sensory experiences of children observing a passing thunderstorm and uses imagery effectively to describe the beauty of nature in its wake: "Diamond drops / dress trees and vines. / Storm is over. // The world now shines." The fluid, rhyming text offers some basic facts about thunderstorms; the well-researched back matter presents a more detailed account. Combining traditional techniques on paper, three-dimensional layering of those images, and digital elements, McKay's illustrations beautifully capture both the changing weather phenomena and the children's reactions. An informative read-aloud choice for home or classroom, this picture book offers several opportunities for kids to chime in on the repeated zaps, claps, and booms.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2023
"No wind, / No rain, / No stormy sky." Three children kick a bright red ball across the sloping island landscape. As they search for their ball amidst the bushes, though, they look up to see darkening clouds and the sound of "whispering leaves / in newborn / winds." A sudden storm strikes -- "ZAP! CLAP! BOOM!" -- sending the children running as lightning strikes in the distance. The downpour begins while they gleefully leap through the showers on the way to find shelter. Nearly as soon as it began, the storm moves away and the island shines anew, "washed by water pressure." MacKay's intricate layered-paper illustrations (with lightning and rain added digitally) capture the way the storm touches every part of the island: vegetation bowing from the wind and heavy rain, ocean waters churning, and the children's hair whipping through the electrified air. Salas's onomatopoeic verse conveys both the ferocity of a thunderstorm and the wonder it can inspire; it begs to be read aloud, if only for that satisfying "Zap! Clap! Boom!" refrain. Back matter provides the science behind the components of a thunderstorm and shares the author's childhood delight in afternoon storms.

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)