Could it be that what's behind a tornado's fury isn't a meteorological imperative but an anger-management problem? So conjectures Drew Beckmeyer (The Long Island) in I Am a Tornado, which is so hilarious and psychologically astute that any other authors contemplating a picture book about a cow playing therapist to a whirling windstorm should probably think twice, as their offering is unlikely to measure up to this one.
The anthropomorphized tornado at the book's center is as egotistical as one might expect. "I AM SO BIG AND I AM SPINNING SO FAST," the tornado says as it swallows up a cow. The cow's plea for mercy--"Could you put me down?"--is rebuffed: "NO. WATCH THIS!" The cow tries a new tack: "Tornado, is everything okay?" The tornado flatly denies that it could be having any issues. The cow, ceaselessly compassionate, continues to press. Finally, the tornado lets down its guard: "IF I DID DECIDE TO PUT YOU DOWN, WOULD YOU RUN AWAY?"
It's all as wonderfully wacky as it sounds, the essential lesson about the importance of being honest with oneself never eclipsing the comedy at the book's heart. Working in chunkily cut paper in blunt colors against vivid backdrops, Beckmeyer injects some science into the silly, using arrows to indicate that wind results from the collision between warm air and cold air, creating a "swirling rage funnel." I Am a Tornado may well encourage some young readers to say "I am upset" instead of becoming destructive storms of emotion, but if that fails, at least the book will make them stop and smile. --Nell Beram, freelance writer and YA author