Reviewed by Wendy Lipke
Storm, by author, Claire Saxby, is a hard covered children’s picture book. The front cover depicts the title with dark thunderous clouds and driving rain. The back cover, in contrast, is presented in rainbow colours. This book would be suitable for Primary School students as it covers what happens when a storm is developing, through to when it has spent its force.
The illustrations dominate the pages with the text presented in brief paragraphs to verbalise what is happening as the storms builds then becomes spent. The illustrations are colourful, so the text is done in appropriate colour for the background on which it rests.
The story tells of how the storm itself builds before releasing its moisture and how this affects the creatures of the sea and those along the shore. The words “Waiting” and “Watching” are given emphasis. At the beginning of the story a pair of plovers are waiting while above the glassy sea, an eagle hovers, watching. Beneath the surface of the water a spiky green fish sways, also waiting.
There are treasures to find for the discerning eye. Can you spot the whales and dolphins? How many different sea creatures can you find?
Imbedded within the story is a double page which opens out to reveal the majesty and fury of the storm. At the end of this story, after the storm has gone, the eagle soars over the escarpment, watching while the plover pair build a new nest, waiting.
The final page of the book is of a different font on a white background and sums up what the story in pictures was all about. The picture book, Storm, is another exploration of the natural world from the award-winning team of Claire Saxby and Jess Racklyeft.
Storm
(2026)
by Claire Saxby
Illustrator- Jess Racklyeft
Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 978 1 7611 8171 9
$24.99;32pp