Storm in the Night by Mary Stolz

We kicked Lulu’s kindergarten year off with Storm in the Night as our first Five in a Row selection. Obviously, there are plenty of rabbit trails one can chase with this book, but it is a fantastic story in its own right.  It is the story of Thomas, his grandfather, and his cat and an evening they spend together, waiting out a thunderstorm.  What transpires during this evening of crashing thunder and flashing lightning is that Grandfather shares his own memories of a similar night he experienced when he was a boy.  This story is replete with warm and loving dialogue, onomatopoeia, and the unfolding of a special grandfather-grandson relationship.  Pat Cummings’ dark illustrations communicate the warmth between Thomas and Grandfather and even earned the book a Coretta Scott King honor designation for illustrations in 1989.  Storm in the Night is a fun book to read aloud, and it has been a real winner with my girls.  They are really scared of thunderstorms themselves, and I think that perhaps books like this give them a safe way to observe and think about what scares them.  We’ve read it no fewer than seven times, probably, over the past two weeks, and we all enjoyed it just as much the last time as the first. 

Stay tuned for some great go-alongs for Storm in the Night, as well as some of the related activities we did!

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