Many children are frightened by the noise of a storm. Here, a grandmother’s caring and her stories help a girl overcome her fear of thunderstorms. Expressive, informal illustrations are reminiscent of folk art, and complement the warm story.

Independent Reading Level:6-12
Awards: 1998 Buckaroo Book Award

Primary
A girl and her Russian grandma make the ingredients for a cake as a storm draws closer.
I'd like to have this book in my collection because it talks about a child overcoming her fears even when she doesn't realize it, and spending some quality time with her grandma who is from Russia but now lives in Michigan. It is a positive and also educational story because you learn how to count how far away a storm is, we could also make thunder cake as a class!

The illustrations are so so beautiful! ( )

A charming book about a grandmother helping a granddaughter through the fears of an oncoming thunderstorm by gathering the ingredients for a "Thunder Cake" and baking it together before the storm arrives. The process of gathering the ingredients feels like an important journey and is illustrated beautifully with Polacco's classic artwork.