This was an encouraging read. We learn quickly that a tornado is going to be coming soon. All the students are worried about a young boy in a wheelchair and how he will survive in such a storm. When Jonathan gets home from school his parents have to leave to go get a car fixed. During this time Jonathon is suppose to be caring for the horses. Then, all the sky turn black and sirens start to go off. The tornado is coming. However, Jonathan stays calm and knows he has to make sure at the horses are safe. The horses ran away and Jonathan captures them and saves them. Once the tornado passes Jonathan hears his mother and father and everyone is happy and safe. By saving the horses Jonathan is seen as a hero and he can not wait for his classmates to hear what happened. He is excited because other than being bound to a wheelchair and everyone working about how he was going to take care of himself he ended up saving horses. This is a good book to read to students because it teaches students they can do anything they want as long as you don't let others knock you down despite a disability or not. ( )

While talking about the upcoming possibility of a tornado heading their way, everyone in Jonathan’s class worries about what he will do. Jonathan was bound to a wheelchair after being hit by a truck while riding his bike, so all his classmates couldn’t see what he could possibly do in a storm. When Jonathan gets home from school, his mom tells him that she is going somewhere to fix her car, leaving Jonathan alone to care for the horses and animals on the family farm. All is going good as he takes care of the horses, then a tornado comes. The horses run away and Jonathan saves them. Together, he and the two horses hide in an old stable. The tornado passes, and Jonathan goes out to see his house and farm’s damage. His mom and dad return home and are happy that he is okay. Despite his handicap, Jonathan became the hero just when everyone thought he couldn’t take care of himself. A good book to encourage students that anything is possible and to not get discouraged by what others say. ( )

“The Storm” is a thrilling story about a young boy who makes it through a tornado. He was in an accident and is in a wheelchair, however that does not stop him from being heroic and saving his families horses from the horrible tornado that hit their town. With the use of descriptive language and thorough illustrations, this story does an amazing job communicating to readers that physical disabilities only limit people if they allow them to. It also conveys that children who are restricted to a wheelchair feel dejected when people only see them as a person in a wheelchair. “They would still see his ‘condition,’ but when they knew this story they might begin to see a lot more. They might just see him. Jonathan.” ( )

Jonathan is confined to a wheelchair yet he faced his fear of a tornado by saving the lives of the horses on his family farm.

This book did not receive an award. This book is good for 4th and 5th graders since the text of the book is for older kids and the concept of the boy being handicapped is also more appropriate for older kids. This book is about a handicapped boy named Johnathan who wants to be viewed by his peers as a regular kid, instead of being viewed as the handicapped kid. His parents made his house and barn area very handicapped accessible and they ask him to do regular chores around the house so he doesn't feel a sense of being different. One day his mother asks him to feed the horses while she runs out somewhere and his dad is working. As he is feeding the horses, a tornado starts a few feet from him. Despite his inability to walk he rescues the farm animals and he survives the storm. Once the storm ends his parents come home and praise him for being so brave and responsible. After this even Johnathan hopes his classmates will see him as just Johnathan and not the crippled boy. This book deals with responsibility, diversity, and natural disasters. We could start off with listing people we know with disabilities and we can also say if they have any limits on what they can do because of the injury. We can than read the book and after the book they can write a few sentences on how they would make Johnathan feel more comfortable in school even though he is in a wheel chair.