A review by cacia
I Am the Storm by Jane Yolen, Heidi E.Y. Stemple
2.0
The concept — depicting resilience during storms — is a good one. The illustrations are lovely. Seeing families weathering a variety of storms and then cleaning up after them resonated with me and probably will with a lot of people, since everyone has been through some sort of storm or natural disaster.
The sentiment "I am the storm" did not resonate with me, however. Honestly, it seems ridiculous. You are the destructive force that is sweeping through your world and imperiling the lives and livelihoods of your family, friends, and neighbors? Um, no.
"I am strong like the storm. I am resilient; I can withstand it; I too can be a force in my world." That I could get, and that is I think what the gist of the message here is supposed to be. But the sentiment given here is not fully elaborated like that; the most elaboration it gets is on the last few pages as "I am the storm. I am fierce like the hurricane" (or strong, or wild, like the tornado or blizzard or wildfire; I've already returned the book to the library, or I'd quote it verbatim).
Illustrating resilience through storms to reassure a child is beneficial, and for children who already appreciate the grandeur of storms, this book may be perfectly sufficient; but logical or especially sensitive children may find the sentiment insulting or may have questions even when they grasp the metaphor, since not everyone wants to embody the ferocity of a life-taking disaster.
2.5 stars
The sentiment "I am the storm" did not resonate with me, however. Honestly, it seems ridiculous. You are the destructive force that is sweeping through your world and imperiling the lives and livelihoods of your family, friends, and neighbors? Um, no.
"I am strong like the storm. I am resilient; I can withstand it; I too can be a force in my world." That I could get, and that is I think what the gist of the message here is supposed to be. But the sentiment given here is not fully elaborated like that; the most elaboration it gets is on the last few pages as "I am the storm. I am fierce like the hurricane" (or strong, or wild, like the tornado or blizzard or wildfire; I've already returned the book to the library, or I'd quote it verbatim).
Illustrating resilience through storms to reassure a child is beneficial, and for children who already appreciate the grandeur of storms, this book may be perfectly sufficient; but logical or especially sensitive children may find the sentiment insulting or may have questions even when they grasp the metaphor, since not everyone wants to embody the ferocity of a life-taking disaster.
2.5 stars