Island Storm - by Brian Floca (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Before taking shelter, two siblings experience the excitement and beauty of an island storm from its calm beginning to its powerful peak and gentle end."--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

In Caldecott Medalist Brian Floca and acclaimed illustrator Sydney Smith's thrilling picture book, young readers will experience the sheer power of a violent thunderstorm and the calm of its aftermath.

A Kirkus Prize Finalist
A New York Times Best Children's Book of the Year

Can you tell when a storm is coming? Can you feel the wind coming and growing? Do you hear the branches bouncing together, hear the whispers of the wind through the leaves?

Join in the journey as two siblings bear witness to the steady start, thrilling apex, and gentle end of this island storm. They'll shelter soon, but first they want to feel it all.

Sydney Smith is the winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international distinction given to authors and illustrators of children's books, and his illustrations are fantastically textured and visually spectacular. Paired with Brian Floca's eloquent, rhythmic text, Island Storm is a multi-sensory experience that will amaze and delight readers. Children who fear thunder can take comfort in seeing it captured in the pages, while those who relish watching the sky crack open can enjoy battling this storm from the comfort of their homes.

A Charlotte Zolotow Award Highly Commended Title
An NPR "Books We Love" Selection
A Horn Book Fanfare Title
Named a Best Book of the Year by Shelf Awareness, Publishers Weekly, the Boston Globe, Quill & Quire, and more!
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
One of Evanston Public Library's 101 Great Books for Kids

Review Quotes

Presents the glory of shared adventure. . . . Given the book's beauty, readers will want to "go on" right alongside them.
--The New York Times

Caldecott Medalist Floca, here taking the role of author, employs atmospheric verse to describe the children's unaccompanied escapade. . . . Hans Christian Andersen Award recipient Smith captures the burgeoning storm's splendid energy in broad strokes and splashes. . . .A thrilling story about how a shared exploit can deepen camaraderie and trust--and a dynamic look at the dual powers of nature and volition unleashed.
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Readers will experience this tempest alongside the characters, every step of the way. Yet the true heart and soul of the book resides in the siblings' relationship as they weather the weather--and more--together. . . .The power of nature captivates and compels in this phenomenal tale of pushing limits.
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Floca's poetic text carries all the quiet suspense and crashing weight of an approaching gale, colored by enough loving detail of setting that it finds something powerfully universal in the specific. . . . [A] moving ode to childhood, home, and sibling bonds, set to the awesome bass line of nature.
--Booklist (starred review)

Smith's watercolor and gouache artwork complements Floca's expressive use of onomatopoeia and alliteration.. . .The recurring refrain when the siblings hold hands, "You pull on me, I pull on you, and we decide to go on," reflects their deep trust in each other, reassuring young readers that, even in the face of life's storms--both literal and figurative--they do not have to face them alone.
--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)

Floca's writing is pure poetry; Smith's expressionistic watercolor and gouache illustrations are utterly gorgeous; and themes of adventure and home, sibling closeness, and the majesty of nature are expertly conveyed. Picture book making at its best.
--The Horn Book (starred review)

A masterful blend of poetic language and dynamic illustration, this story delivers both an edge-of-your-seat adventure and a moving meditation on perseverance and the storms siblings weather together.
--Shelf Awareness (starred review)

Island Storm is a real adventure, portraying the threat of imminent danger in a way seldom found in picture books. . . . The narrative is a noteworthy tribute to the enduring bond between siblings, through thick and thin.
--BookPage

About the Author

Brian Floca is the author and illustrator of the Caldecott Medal winning and New York Times bestselling book Locomotive, as well as Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 and Lightship, both of which garnered Sibert Honors. He is also the illustrator of the popular Poppy series, by Avi, and Richard Jackson's With Dad. Visit him at BrianFloca.com. Born and raised in Temple, Texas, he now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Sydney Smith is the author and illustrator of Do You Remember? and of Small in the City, which received eight starred reviews and a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators. He is the illustrator of My Baba's Garden and the Schneider Book Award winner I Talk Like a River, both written by Jordan Scott. He is a recipient of the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award, two Governor General's Awards for Illustrated Children's Books, and four New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year citations, among other accolades. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia with his wife and two sons.