Villa's wordless picture book is a haunting look at a family whose home might be wiped out by a storm. Anyone who has lived through a hurricane will catch their breath at Villa's unnerving watercolors, generously laid out across long, horizontal spreads. Familiar, nervous moments are found on every page: Dad preparing the windows while the kids, oblivious, play on the floor. The ominous glow of a weatherman delivering his warning soliloquies. Rain-battered volunteers surrounding the house with sandbags. And, of course, the worried family deciding to drive away, waving farewell to their brave, lonely house. The inability to know what nature has in store is quietly gut-wrenching til a devastating spread depicts the interior of the house as storming with water, furniture being tossed like sticks. Villa's sole, but significant, misstep is the too-quick turnaround: a single spread of house repair leads to the family enjoying a perfectly restored home. A worthwhile reminder that things are darkest before dawn, though not quite up to the visceral truths that make the rest of the book so moving.

K-Gr 3 This gripping story of loss and regeneration is told wordlessly through large, beautifully painted illustrations. The opening spread depicts an idyllic scene: blue sky, lush grass, and brother and sister playing outside their charming clapboard home at the edge of the water. But the next spread reveals gathering clouds in a red sky and an anxious parent looking over his shoulder as he installs storm windows. As the spreads progress, the clouds become black and roiling, rain pours down, and not even the sandbags they stack around the house assure the family's safety. They pack a few possessions into the car, and after regretful backward glances, drive to a hotel. Ensuing pages reveal the storm's fury as the sky blackens and waves crash inside the house, destroying furnishings and roaring threateningly toward the stairs. A bird perched on a broken branch stands out as a lone survivor. When the family returns, their grief is evident, but they move on to rebuild. Once again the scene is idyllic: contented parents look on as their children play outside the newly renovated home surrounded by freshly planted flowers and trees. This powerful story provides ample opportunities for youngsters to elaborate on the family's emotions as they experience the destruction of their home and ways in which they were able to cope with this loss. Matt Doeden's Floods (Pebble Plus, 2010) is a nonfiction explanation of floods and how they occur. Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT