The Storm

Young Jim takes an owner's pride in the high grass banks and marshes surrounding his coastal home. ""All this is mine!"" he shouts at the early spring wind. But that night the same wind rages and a powerful storm blows in: ""It stirred up the sea, bent trees... rattled at the doors and windows, and tore through the dreams of people sleeping."" Jim and his mother race out to see wild, flooding waves approach, and the two scramble for shelter at Grandma's hilltop house. As the storm passes, Jim has a new respect for nature: ""All this is yours,"" he whispers to the now-calm wind. Henderson's (A Year in the City) evocative imagery and kinetic mixed-media paintings are a combination of grace and fury, just like the storm. Her depiction of fierce winds, hail and white waves crashing against an inky horizon are particularly memorable. Ages 5-8. (Nov.)