The Superstorm: Hurricane Sandy

Gr 2–5—Superstorm Sandy captured the headlines in the fall of 2012, and while the front pages have been relinquished to other stories, its effects are still being felt in many communities. This book provides enough detail to paint a vivid picture without unnecessarily scaring young readers, many of whom may have experienced the storm firsthand. The first chapter traces the storm's origin and path through the Caribbean nations. Gregory provides a strong sense of context, listing the damage and casualties Sandy caused in each country, including the plight of the Haitians still homeless from the 2010 earthquake. The rest of the book is dedicated to the impact on the Northeast, from President Obama's emergency declaration on October 28, through the major news stories (including the presidential campaign), to the cleanup and recovery efforts. The captioned color photographs are plentiful, but small. Maps, side boxes about other catastrophic North American hurricanes (including Katrina), and a statistics page add detail; defined bold vocabulary words with pronunciations in a glossary and an index will aid researchers too young for primary sources.—Rebecca Dash Donsky, New York Public Library