Hurricanes

by Seymour Simon

Hurricanes.
Typhoons.
Willy-willies.
Cyclones.
Though the names may vary, these formidable, swirling storms are still the most devastating events in nature. Seymour Simon makes vivid the power of hurricanes in his clear, approachable style. He describes the formation of hurricanes, the effects of heavy winds and rains, and the damage caused by flooding long after the storm has passed. Satellite images and dramatic full-color photographs add impact to stories about some infamous hurricanes, including Andrew, Camille, and Floyd. Seymour Simon also explains how forecasters rate and predict hurricanes -- and how best to prepare for them before they strike. As in his other highly acclaimed books on natural disasters -- EARTHQUAKES, LIGHTNING, STORMS, TORNADOES, VOLCANOES, and WILDFIRES -- Seymour Simon introduces curious readers of all ages to one of the most awe-inspiring phenomena on earth.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Seymour Simon, whom the NY Times called "the dean of [children's science:] writers," is the author of more than 250 highly acclaimed science books (many of which have been named Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children by the National Science Teachers Association).

Seymour Simon uses his website, SeymourSimon.com, to provide free downloads of a wealth of materials for educators, homeschoolers and parents to use with his books, including 4-page Teacher Guides for all 26 of his Collins/Smithsonian photo essay books. The site provides multiple resources for kids writing book reports or wanting to explore the online Science Dictionary, and also features the Seymour Science blog highlighting current science news. Educators and families are encouraged to sign up to receive the monthly newsletter from SeymourSimon.com to stay abreast of the latest materials that Seymour Simon is introducing to enrich the reading experience.

He taught science and creative writing in elementary and secondary schools and was chair of the science department at a junior high school in the New York City public school system before leaving to become a full-time writer. "I haven't really given up teaching," he says, "and I suppose I never will, not as long as I keep writing and talking to kids around the country and the world."

Seymour Simon is also a creator and the author of a series of 3D books and a series of Glow-in-the-Dark Books for Scholastic Book Clubs, a series of leveled SEEMORE READERS for Chronicle Books, and the EINSTEIN ANDERSON, SCIENCE DETECTIVE series of fiction books. His books encourage children to enjoy the world around them through learning and discovery, and by making science fun. He has introduced tens of millions of children to a staggering array of subjects; one prominent science education specialist described Simon's books as "extraordinary examples of expository prose."

Seymour Simon has been honored with many awards for his work, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Lifetime Achievement Award for his lasting contribution to children's science literature; the New York State Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature; the Hope S. Dean Memorial Award from the Boston Public Library for his contribution to children's science literature; The Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Award for Non-fiction; the Jeremiah Ludington Award for his outstanding contribution to children's nonfiction; the Empire State Award for excellence in literature for young people; and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Forum on Children's Science Books.

In a recent interview Simon was asked if he ever thinks of retiring. "I seem to be working faster and harder than ever. I absolutely don't feel any urge to sit back and look at what I've done. The only things that I'm thinking about are things I'd like to do in the future. I'm planning and doing and continuing to write. It's what I love to do. I remember a story about an anthropologist going to talk to a tribe and he asked them what was their word for "work." Their response was they have no word for work. Everybody does the things that they do in their life. I love that response. I don't differentiate between work and play. Everything I do is something that I enjoy doing - the writing, the research and everything else."

Seymour Simon writes and photographs nature from his hilltop home in Columbia County in upstate New York, where he lives with his wife Liz Nealon.

You can follow Seymour on Facebook and on Twitter, as well as on his website, which offers free, downloadable Teacher Guides to his books for educators, parents and homeschoolers, as well as the popular Seymour Science Daily Blo

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few days in advance of Hurricane Irma, I took my third-grade son to the library to check out some reading material. He decided, on his own, to check out books about hurricanes. We read this book after Irma had passed us, so it was good information, but not too worrying.

This is a good book for basic information, and it has some dramatic hurricane photos. It was probably good that we read the book after the hurricane rather than before it.

[Janna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book talks about hurricanes and how they are categorized. It goes through and explains each category and how it falls in that category. The book talks about safety precautions to take and how hurricanes are formed.

Lesson- read this with your students before talking about weather patterns and when and how hurricanes form.

[Carlie Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: nonfiction
Grade: 2-4
Review: This book is a great book to read to better understand hurricanes. It talks about everything from where the name came from, what happens in the different categories, and what it would look like on a radar. I learned a lot from this book and I think the students will also learn a lot.

[Shiloah · Rating 4 out of 5]

As of this year, there are some updates to be aware of. Great book for the kids to learn the what's and how's of hurricanes.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative. I just would have liked it even more had I told how hurricanes are named (e.g. Hugo, Andrew).

[Vince Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really shows great images of hurricanes and what to do.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice resource for my weather unit!

Q2021 book.

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit) · Rating 3 out of 5]

All about hurricanes.


Read for our 1st grade Science unit on hurricanes.

[Jyothi Gispanski]

CC: hurricanes

[Rayan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the novel Hurricanes by Seymour Simon, many breathtaking situations take place south of the United States of America. In these three short paragraphs, you will learn the dangers and awareness of Hurricanes. Hurricanes are the most awesome, violent storms on Earth. People call these storms by other names, such as typhoons or cyclones, depending on where they occur. Whatever they are called, tropical cyclones all form the same way. Hurricanes are the most awesome, violent storms on Earth. People call these storms by other names, such as typhoons or cyclones, depending on where they occur. The scientific term for all these storms is the tropical cyclone. Only tropical cyclones that form over the Atlantic Ocean or the eastern Pacific Ocean are called “hurricanes. "Whatever they are called, tropical cyclones all form the same way.Tropical cyclones are like giant engines that use warm, moist air as fuel. That is why they form only over warm ocean waters near the equator. The warm, moist air over the ocean rises upward from near the surface. Because this air moves up and away from the surface, there is less air left near the surface. Another way to say the same thing is that the warm air rises, causing an area of lower air pressure below. Air from surrounding areas with higher air pressure pushes into the low-pressure area. Then that "new" air becomes warm and moist and rises, too. As the warm air continues to rise, the surrounding air swirls in to take its place. As the warmed, moist air rises and cools off, the water in the air forms clouds. The whole system of clouds and wind spins and grows, fed by the ocean's heat and water evaporating from the surface. Storms that form north of the equator spin counterclockwise. Storms south of the equator spin clockwise. This difference is because of Earth's rotation on its axis. As the storm system rotates faster and faster, an eye forms in the center. It is very calm and clear in the eye, with very low air pressure. Higher pressure air from above flows down into the eye.


In this paragraph, you will read 3 important answers to 3 important questions. #1, How do you know that this book is nonfiction? This book is certainly a nonfiction book for three important reasons. Throughout reading this book I encountered many facts and statements. This tells me it’s a nonfiction book because of the numerous facts I come upon. Another reason I know this book is nonfiction is that it states all the dangers and has no opinions about any information about Hurricanes. The final reason I know this book is a nonfiction book is that there are no supernatural, non-existing characters. #2, Do you think your friends will be interested in reading this book? Why or why not? From my point of view, I think some of my friends will like reading this book. Only the people who are very interested in science, nature, and terrific natural disasters would like to read this book. This book implicates numerous facts about all of these topics/statements that are mentioned. #3, Why did the author write this book? How do you know? Basically, the author wrote this book for many various reasons. One, he wanted the reader to beware of the numerous Hurricanes that take place often next to The United States of America. He also wanted to write about all the facts in his mind so that the reader benefits from them and learns. Finally, Seymour Simon wanted to write about science because he loved it and was his hobby, to inform/teach the reader.


I would recommend this book to all the 7th graders who are reading this review about my book. It is very important the everyone benefits from the numerous and various books of Seymour Simon including; Hurricanes, Super Storms, Storms, Tornado’s and etc. Reading this novel gave me the idea to recommend this book to grades from 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. All the people who are interested in science books can read this one. Thus, Hurricanes was one of the most interesting science books I've read about Seymour Simon and I encourage all 7th graders to try it out.

[Hamza Mounir]

Do you know what Hurricanes are?

The breathtaking non-fiction science book "Hurricanes" was professionally authored by Seymour Simon. From the violent winds that rule the sea to the tempest storms on coasts, "Hurricanes" explains all types of wind-related natural disasters. Seymour commences his book by introducing the topic of hurricanes, which are huge spinning storms that develop in warm areas around the equator. Hurricanes bring along strong winds, heavy rains, storm surges, flooding and even tornadoes. A peak period where hurricanes form is called Hurricane season and lasts from June to November in the U.S. Hurricanes are one of the three types of storms and are categorized as Tropical cyclones. Like people, hurricanes are alike, except they all have their own story. These storms usually range from fifty to one hundred miles wide which can sweep a coastline clean of life. Even though this may seem strange, hurricanes are the world's most dangerous storms. Even though tornadoes have stronger winds, hurricanes bring a panoply of different natural disasters. Every storm type has different categorizations that determine the strength of it. Hurricane strength is based upon the speed of the winds around the eye. The country that is the most hit by hurricanes is the U.S. In 2005, a huge tropical storm named Katrina which formed on the Bahamas crossed and devastated Florida. Forecasters and meteorologists are the people who modern society depend on to know if hurricanes are coming. If there is a storm coming, storm warnings are broadcasted on TV and radio. Thus, hurricanes are dangerous for many reasons, not only their winds.

"Hurricanes" by Seymour Simon relates to many modern jobs today. First, forecasters are people that predict the weather and then later disclose their acquired information to the public to warn about incoming storms. In the U.S., there are over thousands of forecasters because of the enormous amounts of hurricanes occurring there. Also, this book would also link to the career of meteorologists who study weather. Another title I would give this book would be, "The Spinning Terrors". I would rename "Hurricanes" to "The Spinning Terrors" because even though the book is about the science behind hurricanes, it also explains the terrors caused by hurricanes. Finally, this book is truly non-fiction because it is full of facts and real life connection. Some books are fiction mixed with real-life events except "Hurricanes" is pure non-fiction. Thus, "Hurricanes" could use a change of titles, relates to several careers and is truly non-fiction.

I would recommend this book to a class for professional use. This book is fairly short and easy to read thus making it easy for classroom use. Also, the ideas and explanations proposed fit the middle school curriculum. I would also recommend this book for people living on equatorial coastlines because they should know about the dangers of hurricanes in such a vulnerable area. Henceforth, I would recommend "Hurricanes" to a middle school class for professional use and to citizens living along coastlines.

[Hyun Young Jeong · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book ‘Hurricanes’ by Seymour Simon is a science nonfiction book telling us why hurricanes occur and why they are dangerous. Hurricanes are huge spinning storms that develop in warm areas around the equator. Hurricanes bring strong wind, heavy rain, storm surges, flooding, and sometimes even tornadoes. Coastal areas and islands are in the most danger during a hurricane, but even inland areas are at risk. The word ‘hurricane’ comes from people who lived in the Tropics in earlier times and saw the terrible destruction and great loss of life these storms can bring. The ancient Mayan people called their storm god ‘Hunraken’. An evil god of the Taino people of the Caribbean was called ‘Huracan’. Hurricanes are one of the three kinds of storms called tropical cyclones. The other two types are tropical depression and tropical storms. Hurricanes are the strongest out of the three. Hurricanes are deadly, not just because of their winds, but also because they produce such heavy rains. The rains cause flooding along the coastline and even well inland, hundreds of miles from the coast. Torrential rains also trigger landslides and mudslides in hills or mountain areas. In America, hurricane and storm warnings are broadcast over radio and television and are also available on the Internet. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radio broadcasts warnings, watches, forecasts, and other weather information all day. As one can see, Hurricane is a type of tropical cyclones, and it can cause severe damage.

While reading this book, readers might have some questions. First, if readers can change the book’s title, how would it change? Readers might rename the book ‘Hurricanes: How does it form, and why is it dangerous’. The reason is because the book mainly talks about why hurricanes occur and why they are dangerous. Second, why is the topic of this book important? Hurricanes are important because people should know about hurricanes to avoid danger during one. Also, knowing how others life get impacted by a hurricane is very important. Third, write an acrostic poem with HURRICANE.
H: Hurricanes
U: Unstoppable
R: Really strong
R: Really destructive
I: It impacts people’s life
C: Causing a lot of people to die
A: And now we need to learn about it
N: Now we need to avoid it
E: Either learn it or learn it!
As one can see, Hurricanes have a huge impact on human life, and people need to learn about it.

I would recommend this book to English beginners. This book is very short and uses very easy vocabulary. The letters are also very big, making it easier for new-to-English students. However, if the students do not like science, especially about the weather, then I do not recommend this book to those students. Thus, this book would be good for ELL students that like science.

[Jennifer Naquin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hurricanes by Seymour Simon is an informative book about (what do you know) hurricanes. Simon informs his reader through descriptive, easy to read pages with real life photos of hurricanes, damages hurricanes have done, as well as what a hurricane looks like from an aerial view. 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. Simon recommends this book to ages 5-9; however I would recommend this book to ages 8-12 due to I don’t believe 5 and 6 year olds completely grasp the context of different stages of hurricanes as well as the pages are full of text and that gets rather boring to children. 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.

[Alyssa Turzai · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is extremely informative about hurricanes. It discusses how they form, what each category of hurricanes means and what to do if you're ever in a high hurricane area. The pictures are very good and I think this text could be used for research in a science classroom if they were discussing weather! Not very exciting, but has very valuable information.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informational texts are NOT my thing but this was a good one. Simon does an outstanding job providing comprehensible comparisons for students. These scientific facts become tangible with his creative descriptors~

[Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hurricanes are way more destructive and deadly than tornadoes. They contain deadly winds, flooding, and lightning. The most deadlies U.S. hurricane was the Galveston, TX Hurricane of September 8, 1900 which killed 12,000 people (8,000 in Galveston alone)!

[Cana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mommy says: Cana loves learning about natural disasters.

[Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hurricanes form over oceans. They are very destructive when they make landfall. They can pack winds up to 200 MPH. They also can produce storm surges up to 43 feet!

[Lisa M · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a children's literature class.

[Amanda Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

For children who love non-fiction books, this is so informational and educational. Some children may even be able to relate to this type of unfortunate natural disaster.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because it talks about one of the worlds most dangerous storms recorded Hurricane Katrina. Seymour Simon is one of my favorite authors for books about storms.

[Lulu B., · Rating 4 out of 5]

good- very good and shows the hurricanes, i love non fiction and fantasy books