"The power, danger, and excitement of a hurricane are brought to life in this picture book." (School Library Journal) Told from the perspective of a boy who witnesses the sky growing ominously purple and rushes to evacuate with his family, Hurricane! is set in Puerto Rico and based on a childhood experience of the author's. The family huddles together in a shelter while the winds howl. They and their neighbors take solace from gently singing "Silent Night" while waiting out the storm. The you-are-there immediacy of this picture book, which ends with the family back home on a gorgeous sunny day, allows children to safely experience the drama of surviving a hurricane. PreSchool-Grade 3-The power, danger, and excitement of a hurricane are brought to life in this picture book set in Puerto Rico. A young boy tells the story, which begins as he and his brother go snorkeling in a calm sea on a sunny day. Suddenly they notice that the sky and air have changed dramatically. They race home, and the family packs up and heads for a shelter as the winds pick up, "pushing the waves into mountains" and thrashing the palm trees "in a wild dance." In the morning as the wind dies down, the family returns home and starts cleaning up the debris. The beautiful oil paintings convey every nuance of the weather system as well as the human emotions evoked by the experience. On the final page, the boys return to the calm sunny beach. The last sentence is a bit of a letdown after all the excitement-"The sparkle of sun on the water was brighter than ever"-and the beach looks amazingly free of debris for the day after a hurricane. Quibbles aside, the story beautifully evokes its mood and has a seamless blend of text and pictures. Pair it with David Wiesner's Hurricane (Clarion, 1990), which also depicts two brothers weathering a storm from a slightly different perspective, or with nonfiction such as Franklyn Branley's Hurricane Watch (HarperCollins, 1985). Sue Norris, Rye Free Reading Room, NY Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. Ages 5^-8. Two boys enter the sea off the coast of Puerto Rico, with the wonder of their snorkeling captured in a colorful double-spread painting. When they come up for air, white-crested waves slap against ominous clouds in a purple sky, and an eerie light illuminates the horizon: a hurricane is coming. Even in the community shelter, the sound of the hurricane is fierce, and the light from a kerosene lamp reveals the anxiety of parents and the children they have cuddled in their laps. Finally, the storm is over, and the families return home. Luckily, the powerful winds and water have left minimal damage, and the boys soon return to play in the water. Although some little ones will wonder about the relationship between the boys--it's not entirely clear whether they are brothers or friends--London's text will satisfy children curious about hurricanes and also soothe their fears. There's no question about Sorensen's dramatic, convincing illustrations, though. The pictures really make the book. Karen Simonetti One moment the sun is shining on the slopes of El Yunque, the largest mountain in eastern Puerto Rico. The next, everything has changed. The sky has turned deep purple, and you feel as if the air has been sucked from your lungs. That can mean only one thing: A hurricane is coming! Jonathan London, who lives in Graton, California, prefers sandals to shoes, but he knows that nothing beats socks for dancing. When he's ready to put the extra slip in his slide, he kicks off his flip-flops and puts on some tube socks. When Jonathon isn't a sensation on the dance floor, he is a rage on the page with over forty books for children to his credit, including Froggy Gets Dressed, Hip Cat, Like Butter on Pancakes, and Puddles. He lives with his wife and two sons. Henri Sorensen is the illustrator of I Love You As Much . . . , also by Laura Krauss Melmed; Wishes for You by Tobi Tobias; and The Gift of the Tree by Alvin Tresselt. He lives in Denmark with his wife and two daughters.