kirkusreviews.com
Research meteorologist and radar
expert Robin Tanamachi, who once studied tornadoes by chasing them across
Midwestern plains, now lies in wait for them in the hills and forests of
America’s southeast.
Writer Carson (Inside Tornados,
2010) and photographer Uhlman document the veteran storm chaser’s work and her
change of focus from storms in Tornado Alley (from the Dakotas down to Texas)
to an area called Dixie Alley that stretches from Louisiana to Georgia and up
to Tennessee and Alabama. Chapter by chapter, they introduce the scientist and
the science, including the genesis of severe storms and tornado anatomy;
explain the use of weather radar and other tools; recall the effects of a
record-breaking number of highly destructive tornadoes in Tennessee and Alabama
in 2011; show cooperating scientists gathered in Alabama to “set a tornado net”;
and describe efforts to predict tornadoes further in advance and to ensure that
people react appropriately to storm warnings. There is particular attention to
Tanamachi’s work with radar and husband Dan Dawson’s measurement of the sizes
and shapes of raindrops. Plenty of well-captioned photos (including pictures of
disasters and of the scientist as a tornado-obsessed child) break up the
exposition and will add to the appeal. Carson’s description of the fourth-generation
Japanese-American scientist’s work is detailed and immediate; readers might
well be able to imagine themselves in her shoes. (Dawson presents white.)
For middle schoolers, challenging
science about a perennially appealing but surprisingly complex subject.
(glossary, research suggestions, acknowledgements, sources and bibliography,
photo credits, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)
Add comment