Great Children's Books About Hurricanes

Great Children’s Books About Hurricanes

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Hurricane Season

Tis the season! No, not that one – I’m talking about the excitement of the Hurricane Season, that six-month period from June 1 through November 30 each year. Since we’ve lived within an hour of the east coast most of our adult lives, our family has experienced that hurricane thrill many times, thankfully without severe consequences. We learned the preparation drill early on, had a plan, and were able to enjoy our big storms as much as one can when anticipating what Mother Nature might hurl at you.

We’ve been evacuated from beach houses over the years, and had trees snapped in half in our yard along with major debris. In 1999 we woke up to ankle-deep floodwater in our bedroom.  There was the hurricane when the houses on either side of us had trees fall on them, so damaged they were both condemned.  

The most exciting perhaps was the 1989 sleepover birthday party with seven seven-year-olds and a three-week-old baby, when tornados knocked huge trees down on either side of us in the neighborhood and knocked out the power for days. Parents had a hard time retrieving their children from the extended party, but the children really enjoyed it – so much ice cream to rescue from the freezer! To make things more memorable, my parents arrived for a visit the next day – Kentucky Derby Day – and found there was no power and thus no television to watch the race! I am sure my breeder/trainer father had not missed a Derby since WW2. Fortunately, I have a wizard of an engineer as a husband, who cobbled electricity from a car and a 9-inch Sony TV using a string, some tin cans and Mint Juleps, and all was in order.

Whether your child is excited by each new adventure in life or views unknown events with trepidation, I think it’s a great idea to familiarize them with the idea of a big storm. It may make things easier when you are scrambling around making sure there’s water in the bathtub, gas in the cars for emergency evacuation, and granola bars for the hangry before the next big storm.

Children’s Books About Hurricanes

hurricane wolf children's book

Hurricane Wolf by Diane Paterson is a great one to read to prepare your child for the experience of a hurricane. Noah hears news announcements about the hurricane, and his family makes preparations to stay safe in their house. They stock up on food and water as well as supplies for power outages, and secure the house and yard from wind damage. When the storm comes, they are ready. The noise of the wind and rain is impressive and Noah is ready for the storm to be over. The eye of the storm is calm and quiet briefly, but resumes again. The next morning the storm is finally over, and the family works together to clean up the debris.

over in the wetlands: a hurricane on the bayou story childrens book

For the animal and nature lovers, Over in the Wetlands: A Hurricane-on-the-Bayou Story by Caroline Starr Rose tells the story of the creatures who live in the swamps and grasses of the Louisiana wetlands during a hurricane. Dunleavy’s evocative illustrations capture the mood of the approaching storm and I love the way he portrays the birds and animals. We tend to think of the effect hurricanes have on the humans and their habitat, so this is a refreshing view into a different world.

just a big storm children's book

Another fun story comes from Mercer Mayer’s Little Critter series, Just a Big Storm. He has a way of telling a story that is humorous and down-to-earth – just what one needs during a hurricane. We hear about having water in buckets to flush the toilets, signs on the refrigerator door to keep it closed, cooking on the woodstove, and using lanterns and flashlights when the power goes out. When the grandparents call to make sure everyone is okay, Little Critter explains confidently that “It was just a big storm.”

the magic schoolbus inside a hurricane

No list would be complete without Ms. Frizzle to combine science with adventure, in The Magic School Bus Inside a Hurricane by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen. This will satisfy the curiosity of an older child about the facts and statistics of hurricanes, the more dramatic the better. (When reading to a younger child I leave out most of the humorous sidebars and revel in the crazy adventure.)

Fun Facts for 2020

North Atlantic names for hurricanes this year are Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gonzalo, Hanna, Isaias, Josephine, Kyle, Laura, Marco, Nana, Omar, Paulette, Rene, Sally, Teddy, Vicky, and Wilfred. The letters Q, U, X, Y or Z are not used.

We have reached Tropical Storm Vicky as of this week.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) uses the Greek alphabet for additional storm names when needed. In 2005 six additional names were used and this year, 2020, will be only the second time to overflow to the Greek alphabet. Since the average is 12 named storms per season and we’ve already had 20 named storms at the peak of the season, it’s reasonable to expect a busy hurricane year in 2020. Stay safe!

We have been lucky, indeed, and preparation as well as fate has favored us with our hurricanes. Parents with children who live along Hurricane Alley will find it worthwhile to acquaint their children early with the experience through stories, so that when the inevitable big storms come along, things aren’t so unfamiliar and scary. Your hurricane plan, whether it involves preparing your own home or going to a shelter, will be reinforced in your children’s minds. Uncertainty is more uncomfortable without a plan. Even if you don’t live with hurricanes, but with tornados or wildfires instead, stories about nature’s exciting times are fascinating to most children, especially if they are included in the event, in preparing and cleaning up after disaster.

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