"Hurricanes" discusses the many characteristics of hurricanes including how they form, how they are named, their strength, and how to prepare for one. This book is great to use to teach science concepts as well as text features. If there is a weather related emergency coming or a safety unit it would be good to pull this book out! Students could participate in a guided reading with the teacher or explore the book by themselves.

*GUIDED READING*
I have used this text for guided reading. It was great to compare and contrast different forms of weather and the descriptive attributes that make them different. This text could be syntactically challenging for students in 4th-6th grade, and bilingual reading learners. ( )

This book uses photographs and stories to inform readers on what hurricanes are and what kind of damage they can do. The book italicizes important scientific terms directly associated with hurricanes, such as when the book is describing the different types of tropical cyclones. The book briefly explains how they are formed and what areas are most at risk, using photographs to pair with the text. The books also explains how hurricanes are categorized and gives a brief description of each category. The hurricane in Galverson, Texas is highlighted, as well as the more recent Hurricane Katrina.
This book would work well to be paired with a unit on natural disasters, as it informs readers about hurricanes, how they are caused, where they occur, and the damage they can cause.

this is informational text over hurricanes. this would be a great tool to use while teaching on weather. ( )

Hurricanes is an in-depth explanation on the development and power of hurricanes. Simon wrote this book in a simplistic format to provide young readers information about these natural occuring events. The age range given for this book is 5-9. I, however, feel this book is not appropriate for a child as young as 5. The book is too long for a child that young and I feel the information is too much for grasp. I think a more approriate age range would be ages 8 and up. Simon wrote the book in a simplistic format and provides the readers with information on the development of hurricanes, rating scale, their unique characteristics, and provides examples of storms. The text is easy to read and the pictures are real life. Simon also includes historical context as well as safety precautions on what to do during a hurricane.
Though the book was extremely informative as well as being very interesting, some of the information was a little repetitive. Written in 2007 the book is still relatively new; however for nonfiction the information will become outdated rather quickly. Overall, I believe that this book is definitely a good place for anyone who wishes to learn about hurricanes, and or are researching hurricanes for a project. For my classroom purposes, I would use this book to supplement our unit study on weather or perhaps leave it in the reading center for them to browse through.