Flood

by Alvaro F. Villa (Illustrator)

A beautiful wordless picture book about the effects of a flood on a family and their home.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, Nature, Environment, Fiction, Kids

32 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Rachel Roby]

Alvaro Vila's picture book "Flood" creates a relatable mirror for kids who live in weather-risk areas and creates an eye-opening window for suburban kids who may not deal with natural disasters. It is unfortunate when a family has to leave home during risky weather and these times can be hard on both kids and adults. I was surprised at how interesting and informative a picture book could be on topics like floods. Although the family of the story lost everything, they came together to rebuild live and thrive despite the circumstances. I recommend this book for any classroom to educate students on an unfamiliar topic and to empower students to work together when life "rains down lemons".

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstanding Picture book. Gorgeous colors used in such a way that surely depict nature's rage in a way kids can understand and assimilate. The story presents the process any family could pass if there is an emergency in their home towns. The family on this story will try to save their home but at the end it only will depend on nature's course.

This wordless picture book provides a way to teach kids to continue. The family experienced destruction, but they decided to rebuild because it was their home. Kids can learn the seriousness of a strong atmospheric event through the images on this book.

Colors are beautiful and embody emotions. Images are drawn carefully and in detail. My favorite element of this book is the images during the hurricane. They show such a fury and intensity, that immediately I felt empathy toward the family depicted in the storybook. This book doesn't need words. Words would be useless in this book, for what the author wants to say is clearly shown to us by his art.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wordless picture book showcases in beautifully illustrated pages the effects of a flood on a family and their home from the home they had before, the preparations and fear the family had as they went to higher ground, and the eloquent way they picked up the pieces and went back to work to create the beautiful home that they had after the flood.

Family, teamwork, tragedy, and a shared experience.

[Han Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is no word in the book, but it has shown everything they want to provide. The book tells a story about a family who lives in the rural face the big flood in their place, so they left their home and go to the hotel for a shelter. The flood ruined their house, but they still rebuild them together and make a more beautiful one at last. The attitude of the book is really positive that people could go through difficulties and there is always a rainbow after the storm. The book illustrates the industriousness and brave of rural people and their life of them as well, which breaks the stereotype of rural that people are sick and lack beauty.

[June · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beautiful cover shows the disastrous flood. Home life, threatening sky, night of forecast, sandbagging, packing up, leaving, threatening waters at home vs. motel, violent flood of home, swamped, receding waters, coming back, view of destruction, rebuilding, life again.

Maybe a 3.5 since this seems to be the new norm - disaster then rebuilding.

[Mari]

wordless

[Colona Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of all the wonderful colors that are used in this book. I really like that it's wordless and the effort put in to protect the house and then have to rebuild the house. I think this would be a great conversation piece for kids about catastrophe, loss of a home, and how the people in this story handle it. ~Ashley

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flood is a perfect book to enter into the discussion of possible disaster that can affect any of our lives at anytime. The story is about a family preparing for a storm and deciding that their best course of action is to leave the home they love. This turns out to be the right move as their home is damaged by the storm. When they return they rebuild and move on with their lives.

The illustrations showcase emotion from their nice life before the storm, the storm, their fear of leaving their home, and their return. Hope, realization, sadness, and finally hope again all shine through the wordless book.

My Goddess and I have read this book a few times which is odd to say since there are zero words in the book. The story is completely narrated by the reader which I find quite unique. Leaving openness for those reading to create their own dialogue fitting to their situation.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

My sister found this book in a thrift store. Delightful! Gorgeous illustrations tell the story in this wordless children's book.

[Britany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This realistic fiction book takes you through the story of a family that must evacuate their house because of a flood warning. The reader is given two scenes throughout the book, and those are the scene of the family safe in a hotel room, and illustrations of the house being destroyed by the flood. When the family returns the house is ruined, but the family starts rebuilding and fixing the damages. At the end of the story the family is back where they started, happy in their home and enjoying themselves.
The story is well put together and there are no words throughout the book. In absence of the words to tell the story there is the presence of amazing illustrations. I could not find the medium of the book, but I think that it was digitally created, because of the textures that are seen in the pictures. The illustrations bleed through every page, and the pages that are especially captivating are the double-page spreads. I like the detail and the emotion in the family members’ faces as they leave their house, while they are in a hotel waiting out the storm, and in the end when they are finished fixing their house and they are having fun. I also thought that the endpapers were really cute too, and usually I do not pay much attention to endpapers but, there was something about them in this book that caught my attention. The small illustrations of the family, and some small household items were cute, and I liked taking my time to identify what they were.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read this beautifully illustrated, wordless picture book after Hurricane Harvey swept through our hometown. In the book, we see parents closely monitoring the weather reports, planning and worrying, as children play video games and sleep peacefully in their beds. Soon the family packs up their car to evacuate while the father boards up their idyllic home. And later, devastating flood waters pour in as the family rests safely away from danger in a sparse hotel room. Small details drive the story home, such as the worried expression of the father, when his face is turned away from his family, and the little wave the girl gives to their home as they drive away. After the storm, the family returns. They persevere. A community helps them rebuild. And young readers take to heart that life can return to normal and that the family is okay because they have each other and they are safe.

[I'mogén · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first time reading a wordless picture book and I was quiet taken aback by how powerful it's was, without the use of words.


I could see this particular story play out as a stop motion piece. The art style was gorgeous and I loved seeing the details of the individual brush strokes.


It showed quite a lot of natural devastation, but the moral I got from it was that you can always try and rebuild something better and stronger.


Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy!

[Macky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to give this a higher rating as the art is 5 star stunning but the super short length of the story makes it feel rushed at the finish and also not sure why the house was rebuilt on the original spot where flooding would definitely happen again, hence the lower rating. But perhaps that’s not really what you should be honing in on as overall it’s still a lovely atmospheric picture book with illustrations that are beautifully crafted .
⭐️3.5⭐️

[Amy Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and effective wordless text about a family who have to leave their home due to a flood. Would work well alongside a topic of natural disasters in KS2 where children could create their own narratives and descriptive pieces.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I got this book it reminded me how I went through the flood That my house went through we never got to fix it but we always go there sometimes even though we don't own it I love the gore just colors scheme and all that Make more picture books like this

[Gabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

A beautiful yet haunting tale of a flood where the pictures say more than words ever could. A tale that plagues many families yet shows strength throughout. Gorgeous.

[Amy S (bookish.contentment) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t wait to find a time to teach using this book, such gorgeous illustrations!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations

[Dr. Lawrence]

I loved the pictures

[Angela De Groot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wordless picture book depicts a devastating flood and the family that returns to restore their cherished home. Gorgeous, evocative art.

[Noor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Community, resilience, effects of flood

[Bailey Pofahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copyright: 2013

Genre: This wordless book would fall under the Fiction genre because it is not about one specific family. Under the umbrella of Fiction it would be considered a Realistic Fiction book because a flood is an event that can, and does, happen all the time to people in real life. Having kids read this Realistic Fiction book could teach them what it is like for people who experience floods and give them something to relate to if they have experienced one for themselves.

Target Audience: I would likely use this book for intermediate grades (3-6) because of the seriousness of the topic. Severe weather and the devastation that comes along with it is something that younger students would not be able to understand or likely be able to relate to.

Connections:
*Text to Self: I can relate to this wordless story because my family actually experienced the devastation of a flood in the past few years. Years ago, my grandparents' house, along the Missouri River, was flooded and they lost everything they owned. Luckily, nobody was hurt during the experience, but for months following we all worked to help rebuild their home and help them get a fresh start.

*Text to Text: I would connect this story to a nonfiction book about moments in history that were similar to this. For example, the book "What was Hurricane Katrina?" by Robin Koontz would be a children's nonfiction book that could be used along with "Flood." If using "Flood" in my classroom, I would likely include it in a unit in which the students learn about historical events, such as Hurricane Katrina. I think this book would be a good text connection because it discusses details such as when and where the hurricane occurred and also provides photographs that help students realize the devastation many families experienced because of it, much like in "Flood."

*Text to World: I would relate this story to the many natural disasters that happen throughout the world every day. One event that I would relate it to specifically would be Hurricane Katrina. This was a natural disaster that caused many families to experience the exact things that the characters in "Flood" went through. This would be a good book to bring into the classroom during a unit on natural disasters or if something tragic, such as another hurricane, were to occur.

[Enchantedchildrensbookreviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flood
Illustrator: Alvaro Fernandez Villa
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
ISBN: 9781623700010

Notice that there is no author listed for this book. That’s because there isn’t one. Flood is a completely visual experience for readers. It doesn’t need words; its impact is that powerful.
This book is recommended for readers ages 6-8 and I definitely agree with this rating. I wouldn’t recommend Flood for younger children unless a parent sees fit. Flood deals with a very real, possibly disturbing event that younger children might not understand or will interpret differently than intended.

This book teaches us an invaluable lesson. Mother Nature, while beautiful, can show her fury. Natural disasters can’t be stopped and are usually devastating. Personal belongings and effects washed away, ruined. Never to be recovered again.

What’s more important than the storm itself is what happens when the worst of it clears. When we witness communities come together to help one another rebuild their homes and businesses, schools and hospitals. Cleaning up the community, shaping up the community, striving to make it better than it was before. That’s a powerful message to send to children.

I personally feel this is a very wise book to share with young children, especially ones old enough to understand the impact that Sandy had on the East Coast of the United States. The storm coverage for Sandy was intense and emotional, so consider taking the time to explain to little ones that there is always the potential for something positive to come out of something so negative.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wordless picture book shows the impact of a flood on a family. The book starts with a sunny day at a house along the river. The children are playing outside, the house is wrapped by a picket fence, and the windows are being replaced. It is idyllic, beautiful and peaceful. The storm front arrives along with the rain. Sandbags are brought to the house and the family builds a wall of them to protect their home. The new windows are boarded up and the family leaves their house behind. Water quickly surrounds the house and soon it breaches the sandbags, rushing violently into the house. The waters recede and the house is left, broken and damaged, filled with mud and muck. But all is not lost, as the family rebuilds.

Though wordless, this book tells a powerful story of family, floods, loss and rebuilding. The illustrations range from those colorful images of the perfect family home to images of destruction. Vila captures the violence of these storms and the water itself. There are several images that are very powerful including the first glimpse of the large storm front coming across the landscape to the close up of the water entering the home. These natural images have a beauty to them but also a sense of foreboding.

This is a wordless book that will work well with a range of ages. It is a timely read as well as weather systems grow more powerful and more families are facing natural disasters. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vivid (wordless) story of a family whose house is flooded.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

wordless picture book that is very moving and almost made me cry

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This stunning wordless picture book tells of a normal family whose life is disrupted by a hurricane. Before the storm they play together, watch TV together and work together. As the weather worsens they do everything to protect their property including storm windows and sandbags. However, the powerful storm is worse than they thought and they must evacuate. While they seek shelter elsewhere the risen waters overtake their once cheerful home. When the family returns, it is to a decidedly more dismal sight than when they left. Yet they don't let this devastate them too much and they start right in rebuilding their happy home. The illustrations are moody and lively in their depictions of the storm. However, the human characters show little expression beyond flat. Overall a wonderfully expressive story of a family that sticks together through thick and thin.

[Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully told story about the destructive power of nature, and humanity's determination to continue and rebuild right in the path nature took through their living room. Let's build our houses here! Oh no, a mudslide/earthquake/flood/whatever wiped it out. Let's rebuild in the same spot!

Foolish cocky nature of mankind aside, the artwork is quite gripping. The water rushing around the periphery of the family safe in a hotel room while their aforementioned domicile is dashed apart by the river they built it right next to was a beautiful touch.

Instead of haunting my toddler with horrible nightmares about a flood destroying all that she knows and loves, she was able to take from it that the family rebuilt, much like we rebuild our block houses when the family dog knocks them over. Hopefully she'll learn to build them out of the dog's reach, unlike this family.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering that here in Colorado we just had unusual torrential rains over a 3 day period that wiped out hundreds of people’s homes, this book seems prophetic. It is a wordless picture book that takes us on a journey, looking at a family’s home in a beautiful setting by a river to watching the tv weathercast of storm coming through sandbagging, packing and leaving, the devastation, and the sorrow of returning. There is hope at the end, showing the re-building of their beloved home. Vila’s illustration are full color, vibrant and show well the family’s feelings and violence of the storm. I imagine this book might be helpful to those who have lost homes to help their children talk about their own feelings.

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wordless picture book about a family at home - before, during, and after a flood. The drawings show a family relaxing at home, together, happy and children watched over by loving parents. Then the clouds roll in and the sky becomes dark. After watching television news, the family packs up their belongings in boxes and spends the night in a hotel, while the storm ravages the house and environs. The next day, the family returns to their home. It is a wreck, but they are still together. The lovely illustrations do not romanticize the event, but its drama is moving. A good pick for family discussions of frightening weather.