(2) K-3 Illustrated by Ishita Jain. In 1979 in remote northeastern India, sixteen-year-old Jadav Payeng is troubled by the way the river "goes wild" during monsoon season: it overflows, ravages islands, and decimates wildlife. Young Jadav proposes to plant trees on sandbars and islands as a way to anchor the soil against the river's raging currents. He starts by planting bamboo seedlings, and when those thrive, he experiments with additional species of trees and plants. Thirty years later, "a forest was born," drawing birds and wildlife including tigers, rhinos, and elephants, and "guarding the island" from future destruction. The illustrations make excellent use of color: vibrant shades of green accompany the many burgeoning forest scenes, but there are also visual surprises in a red dawn sky or orange flames that erupt from a blue-black night scene. Varied page layouts aid in the progression of the action, from Payeng's painstaking efforts to sow the seeds to an individual plant's growth. An inspiring true story of an environmental activist whose important work began in his teens and spanned a lifetime. An author's note provides further information about the "Forest Man of India."

Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) 4-6 Less extreme than the dramatic hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters occurring around the globe, the weather crisis affecting this book's fictional place reveals a slower dismantling of land and its inhabitants. Jillian Robichaux lives in the Cajun community of Boutin in the wetlands of Louisiana. Gradually, coastal erosion is destroying the town: the bridge that connects Boutin to the mainland is unsafe; the school cannot be repaired; and businesses, homes, and even a cemetery are now underwater. The future is clear: families must leave. For Jillian, the inevitable exodus feels like an abandonment of her entire culture and her definition of who she is. Guillory's well-crafted setting includes a cuisine of jambalaya, gumbo, and turtle sauce piquant; a sprinkling of French phrases; and Cajun names. The biggest loss, and the one developed most artfully, is the sense of community created in Boutin over generations. The townspeople nurture that history through their stories, which Jillian and her friends capture in an ambitious oral history project that preserves those memories. Jillian's grief, and her trepidation about facing a now unmoored future, ring true and give the novel its heart, while the issues of preserving one's environment and heritage, although strong, never overtake the narrative but offer readers much to ponder.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Kayla Harren. As a teenager in 1979 northern India, Jadav Payeng was concerned that many snakes died after flood damage to the eroding Brahmaputra River region. He planted twenty bamboo saplings...and ended up many years later with a protected 1300-acre forest teeming with animals. Hopeful and inspiring, this true-life ecological story is illustrated with evocative, verdant art. Appended with endnotes and a planting project.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(2) 4-6 This equally fast-paced, action-driven sequel to The Flooded Earth begins with a storm at sea, three weeks after twins Will and Annalie and their friends escaped Little Lang Lang Island. McConnochie expands the setting of her post-Flood world--sending the characters to distant lands and introducing new cultures as they continue to search for the twins' father--while also exploring the scientific and ethical challenges of climate-altering technology.

Reviewer: Sarah Rettger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(2) PS A wall (i.e., the book's gutter) separates a knight from an ogre and his jungle-animal companions. Readers' ability to see both sides of the wall simultaneously provides the humor as floodwaters (filled with voracious sea creatures) rise on the oblivious hero, who's eventually rescued by the ogre. Lightly toned watercolor illustrations with plenty of white space keep things upbeat, emphasizing the dramatic and comic possibilities of a pair of eyes.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2018

(4) YA Moss and her sorcerer father are shipwrecked on an island in a world swallowed by floods. As Pa gathers magical stormflowers to harness the weather, Moss falls for wild boy Callan and discovers a world contrary to Pa's stories. Character development is thin and hyphenated descriptors are overused, but this atmospheric story--inspired by Shakespeare's The Tempest--emphasizes the scrim between reality and dreams.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tom Disbury. Each day, Sylvia Samantha Wright collects what seems like junk: empty paint cans, tangled rope, half-rotten bananas, and so on. But when a water tower leak washes away the playground, knocks out the town's power, and lets zoo animals escape, she re-purposes the items to fix the problems. Amusing cartoons illustrate this well-built tall tale of giving trash a second life.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(4) 4-6 A slight overview of the destructive storm that devastated Houston and southeastern Texas in August 2017. Felix briefly discusses the nature of hurricanes; the storm's course and immediate impact, including severe flooding, property damage, and trauma; and the disaster's long-term effects. Color photographs aid in understanding the hurricane's severity. "What You Can Do" and "Historic Hurricanes" spreads are appended. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) K-3 When Possum and his babies lose their home in a storm, a chipmunk, muskrat, wasp, and oriole work together to build them a new one. Fine-lined watercolor and ink illustrations bring the animals' river habitat to life. This third book featuring Possum (Possum's Harvest Moon; Possum and the Peeper) offers a comforting tale of community support.

Reviewer: Rachel Marsh

(2) 4-6 In a futuristic world suffering the effects of a catastrophic flood, twins Annalie and Will set sail in search of their father after agents of the dictatorial Admiralty come looking for him. McConnochie creates memorable images of abandoned waterfront communities and effectively develops technical and governing structures. The plot-driven adventure is deepened by interactions and revelations that shape the characters.

Reviewer: Sarah Rettger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(2) 4-6 Thirteen-year-old narrator Yen, her siblings, and her mother live a difficult life in rural Vietnam just after the fall of Saigon. Following a devastating flood in their village, they escape Vietnam and experience a range of obstacles, from corrupt police to prejudice; aboard a refugee boat to Malaysia, they witness sickness, death, and piracy. The descriptive narrative is straightforward with a strong sense of immediacy. An afterword reveals the story's autobiographical roots. Glos.

Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Dylan Giles. This historical novel relates the story of a Babylonian ark (similar to but pre-dating Noah's story) as translated from ancient Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets; direct translations are interspersed in bold to support Finkel's expanded narrative. The writing wavers between classical and colloquial, sometimes confusingly, and the black-and-white illustrations are a bit muddy. A package best appreciated by ancient-history buffs.

Reviewer: Kristine Caldwell

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Kim La Fave. A perilous flash flood threatens a young Sri Lankan girl's life and her village's livelihood. A spare and lyrical text that details Malini's harrowing adventure is accompanied by expressive, brightly colored illustrations with ample open space. Endnotes explain the realities of child labor, poverty, and a dependence on rice as a staple crop in Sri Lanka. A powerful portrait of a child's bravery and perseverance.

Reviewer: Megan Dowd Lambert | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2017

(3) 4-6 Graphic Library: Universal Myths series. Illustrated by Silvio DB. These books explore central elements of mythology (creation and floods) in civilizations around the world. Eschewing the more familiar biblical and Greek stories, these draw largely from Asian, African, and Native American sources, each book offering a good variety. The graphic-novel format works well with the genre, and the art is colorful and lively. World map included. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Graphic Library: Universal Myths titles: Cleansing the World and Dawn of Time.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Lessac Frané. In this traditional tale of the Irula people of Kerala, Pattan and his wife (considered ancestors of the people) and all their animals escape a mountaintop threatened by flooding in a hollowed-out pumpkin and settle in the foothills below. Lessac's richly colored, naive-style gouache paintings beautifully depict the lush South Indian landscape, and the text is just right for reading aloud. An author's note is included.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) 4-6 In 1937, brothers Pete and Gus must set aside their differences and jealous feelings to help their family and town survive the Ohio River Valley's worst flood ever. While Gus gets caught out in the storm, Pete is left at home to handle the rising water. This historical drama, based on the author's family history, is deftly portrayed from the siblings' individual perspectives.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Tina Macnaughton. Some woodland animals try to track down a mysterious red-hatted creature who's making noises by the river at night. When the water rises dangerously, two beavers in red hats reveal themselves and save the day. (They've been building a dam nearby.) The writing is rather awkward, but the mystery and the appealing illustrations (featuring fuzzy touch-and-feel hats) are engaging.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(2) PS Dubuc gives us the Noah's Ark story from the animals' perspective--and for very young children. Without feeling oppressive or claustrophobic, the book manages to reflect the frustration of being cooped up during a rainy spell because the pencil-crayon illustrations, on clean, small-trim pages, are so uncluttered and the animals are so cuddly-looking. There's humor along with moments of loveliness.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2016

(3) 4-6 Natural Disaster True Survival Stories series. In a series about real-life disaster survival, these volumes focus on weather-related events in the U.S. In each book, a brief introduction describes the disaster and four or five chapters detail real individuals' involvement. Gripping, you-are-there narratives are supplemented with primary source quotations (footnoted and sourced); photos and other graphics (maps, graphs, diagrams, etc.) provide additional insight. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Natural Disaster True Survival Stories titles: California Wildfires, Hurricane Katrina, and Joplin Tornado.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(3) 4-6 Huey chronicles the events of this historic flood, using accounts of involved individuals, including noted citizens John Patterson (founder of the National Cash Register Company), Orville Wright, and Wright's sister Katherine. The well-researched narrative provides readers with a vivid portrayal of the disaster that claimed an estimated four hundred lives. Archival photographs provide graphic images of the devastation. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg