Elephant Wind: A Tornado Safety Book - Softcover

Beal, Heather L

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0998791202 ISBN 13: 9780998791203

Publisher: Train 4 Safety Press, 2017

Synopsis

2018 Silver Medal Readers' Favorite Children's Social Issues

Mom's Choice Award Winner

Lily and Niko Rabbit’s childcare class is at the elementary school science fair when a tornado warning happens. They learn how a tornado looks like an elephant trunk and sounds like a train. They also learn where they can go to be safe. When they find out the tornado damaged a neighbor’s house, they come together to help in their own charming way.

Reading this book is a great way for parents, childcare providers, and caregivers, to talk to toddlers and preschool children about tornadoes in a non-scary way. Children can easily relate with these characters and their story gives children the tools and information they need to help stay safe should a tornado happen.

About this title

About the Author

Heather was raised to give 100% to every endeavor. Since her earliest experiences in Girl Scouts, numerous volunteer events and organizations, she has always sought to make a difference. After graduating college, she served our country with 23 years of distinguished Naval service. Dedicated to self-improvement, she obtained masters degrees in Asian studies, conflict resolution, cyber security policy and emergency management while on active duty. She is qualified as a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) with the International Association of Emergency Mangers and earned a PhD in Emergency Management with a special study focus on childcare recovery.  As a working parent of two, she became aware of just how much of a gap existed in emergency preparedness and recovery training and resources for childcare providers and vowed to use her experiences, education, and more importantly, motivation, to help improve current limitations. In addition to publishing books to help teach children about what to do in case of disaster, she has also created a nonprofit, BLOCKS. BLOCKS' mission is to help prepare childcare for disaster. You can learn more about her nonprofit efforts at www.blocksusa.org. Please see www.train4safety.com to learn more about other books available to help prepare your little ones for disaster or to suggest areas we should focus on. Thank you for your support and enjoy the book!

Review

What does a tornado look like? How does it sound? What causes a tornado? What should you do if you're in the midst of a tornado? Elephant Wind (Mom's Choice Award Winner) by Heather L Beal is an illustrated children's book that has all of the answers.This book was truly engaging and entertaining as Ms. Mandy and the children begin to deeply explore the phenomenon of tornadoes. What was great was how Ms. Mandy described the shape and sound of a tornado. The clever part was to give the children a more vivid image of a tornado by comparing it to an elephant’s trunk reaching downward from the sky. I saw this as a wonderful illustration. Ms. Mandy further provided the children with safety tips when experiencing a tornado. This is an excellent book for any child to read alone or to share with others. No one can be totally prepared, but this book answers so many questions that your child will ask about the wonders of tornadoes. Enjoy!

- Vernita Naylor for Readers' Favorite (5 Star Review)

Prepare to be blown away by Elephant Wind. This heartwarming book is full of delightful illustrations and important messages. Author Heather Beal shows adults how they can educate young children about hazards in an entertaining and non-frightening way. She also shines a bright light on the often overlooked capacity of children to learn and to contribute to their own recovery and to the broader community.

- Lori Peek, University of Colorado and Co-Author of Children of Katrina

"Elephant Wind" is a creatively illustrated juvenile story that is designed to teach children (ages three to eight) what to do if a tornado happens. One important aspect of "Elephant Wind" is that it presents the information in a cheery, colorful, nonthreatening format which is appealing and engaging to children. A childcare class of child-animals, including Lily and Niko Rabbit, arrives with their owl teacher, Ms. Mandy on a bus to attend a science fair. A warning siren sounds and the children are asked to follow Ms. Mandy to a tornado shelter. Calmly on their way to the tornado shelter, Ms. Mandy explains what a tornado looks like: a strong, twisty, funnel-shaped cloud. When the young animals do not understand, she explains the tornado shape is like an elephant trunk reaching from the sky to the ground. Further explanations and descriptions of tornado sounds follow, and Ms. Mandy explains the importance of immediately going somewhere safe, like a basement, when they hear a tornado warning. To help the children remember their safety tornado instructions, Ms. Mandy sings a song to them: "Elephant wind coming round, Get to the basement or below ground. Cover your head and before you know, It will blow over and you can go." Soon the school principal ( a wolf) appeared to tell the children the tornado was gone. Although no one was hurt, a neighbor's house was damaged. The animal children began to think of ways they could help the neighbors whose house was damaged to feel better, making treats, and cards, and telling them that they cared. "Elephant Wind" ends with tornado-related questions and activities from Lily and Niko Rabbit. "Elephant Wind" is a fine instruction manual for young children on proper tornado safety procedures, taught in a clear and nonthreatening way.

- The Midwest Book Review 

Edition details

• Publisher: Train 4 Safety Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0998791202
• ISBN 13: 9780998791203
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 24