Tornado Tamer

by Terri Fields, Laura Jacques

Overview

In this adaptation of The Emperor’s New Clothes, Mayor Peacock declares he will hire a tornado tamer to protect the town. After a long search, Travis arrives to fill the position and this trickster weasel has a plan. He will build a very special, transparent cover to protect the town. Travis’ magical cover is so transparent that only those smart enough and special enough can even see it. Mouse is doubtful, but his questions are brushed off. Months later, the cover has been hung and Travis has been paid a hefty sum, but a tornado is in the distance and the town is in its path. Will the magic cover protect the town? This fictional story includes a 4-page For Creative Minds section in the back of the book and a 31-page cross-curricular Teaching Activity Guide online. Tornado Tamer is vetted by experts and designed to encourage parental engagement. Its extensive back matter helps teachers with time-saving lesson ideas, provides extensions for science, math, and social studies units, and uses inquiry-based learning to help build critical thinking skills in young readers. The Spanish translation supports ELL and dual-language programs. The enhanced ebook reads aloud in both English and Spanish with word highlighting and audio speed control to promote oral language skills, fluency, pronunciation, text engagement, and reading comprehension.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781628557541
Publisher:	Arbordale Publishing
Publication date:	02/10/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	9 MB
Age Range:	4 - 9 Years

Editorial Reviews

Tornado season is approaching. The townspeople are terrified that they and their town will be swept away in the high winds. Mayor Peacock calms everyone by promising to save the town. Everyone is calmed except Mouse who wants to know exactly how the mayor is going to keep his promise. The mayor, in true politician style, quickly comes up with the idea of hiring a tornado tamer. Posters advertising for the position of Tornado Tamer are sent out in all directions. In answer to the poster, weasel Travis comes to town and says that he will create an expensive protective cover that will fit over the town to keep tornadoes away. When Travis emerges with the delicate cover that he says only special people can see and feel, no one wants to admit that they are not special. The mayor and all the other townspeople set about positioning the cover over the town. Sadly, Mouse admits to himself that he cannot see or feel the cover. By the time the others discover that the cover is a fake, Travis and their money are long gone and they are left to repair the damage. While similar to Andersen’s The Emperor’s New Clothes, this tale struggles with not enough fiction and too much fact. The story lacks engaging details to keep the reader engaged while the Creative Minds section focuses on the science of tornadoes and is a bit overwhelming for a young reader. The colorful and beautiful illustrations of the animal characters are a positive accompaniment to the story but the reader may be let down at the shallowness of the storytelling. Reviewer: Zella Cunningham; Ages 4 to 8.

Children's Literature - Zella Cunningham