Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, December 18, 1994                   TAG: 9412200052
SECTION: BOOK                    PAGE: G-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

DRAMATIC PAINTINGS TELL THE STORY OF 'THE STORM'

Large realistic paintings by Robert Sauber and sparse text by Anne Rockwell tell this story of a family preparing for a hurricane-like storm about to hit their seaside town; then what happens during the storm and the cleanup.

Rockwell is a well-known author for the very young ("The Toolbox" and "In Our House" both from Aladdin Books) and is accustomed to using a couple of words and bold illustrations to get her point across.

However, this title could have used a few more adjectives to dramatize such a major weather event and the feelings that must go along with it.

One tries not to compare stories too often, because authors are forever, and with great success, writing about very similar subjects from their own hearts. But Robert McCloskey's "Time of Wonder" (Viking, 1957) is absolutely the first choice for a title about the anticipation and experience of a coastal storm.

The full-page illustrations do make "The Storm" a nice choice for reading aloud to a group.

Lynn Erwin is a librarian at Hollins College.