Lightning - Book Review

This post was written as a Master's course assignment for Texas Woman's University.

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Simon, Seymour. 1997. LIGHTNING. New York, NY:  Morrow Junior Books. ISBN 0688146384

2. PLOT SUMMARY

At some point in each lifetime, every person has been mystified, awed, and possibly even terrified by lightning. Seymour Simon takes the reader on an exciting, informative journey of  what we know about lightning from a scientific perspective, at least for the time being. 

Simon references ancient cultures, offering the explanations for the existence of lightning, as seen from those perspectives: "Zeus" from Greece, "Thor" from the Vikings, "Thunderbird" from the Native Americans. The author dispels the commonly mistaken myth of lightning "striking down" and guides the reader through all the different types of lightning, even those that we are only barely beginning to know about. 

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Accuracy

The author Seymour Simon is a well renowned author in the world of science books for children. Simon is an accurate, go-to author in the realm of science, having published over 150 books and receiving numerous awards, including the Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Award, the Eva L. Gordon Award (American Nature Society), and The Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature (New York Library Association). His work is as up to date as possible, even considering the vast and quick changes that can occur in the scientific world. Simon's work is eye-opening and engaging, encouraging quick reading and learning.

Organization

LIGHTNING is organized with an easy flowing, clear sequence. As is familiar for anyone who has experienced the world of Seymour Simon, the fantastic, large photographs consume one page, opposite the text, which is straightforward and written in a large font. Some of the photos displayed are shocking and breathtaking, conveying the ultimate power of nature. Simon offers photography credits on the copyright page.

Design

The author even gives the reader hints as to how to replicate some of the photographs of lightning: "swinging a camera with its shutter open during a lightning flash shows the many repeat strokes..." The photos consume at least half of the book and are the perfect complement to the author's accompanying text. 

Simon leads the reader through historical examples of lightning around the country. We learn, for example, that "ten percent of the people struck by lightning in the United States live in Florida," and because of Tucson, Arizona's high clouds: "lightning here is the most dramatic to be found anywhere in North America."

Style

Simon's lively style draws in the reader immediately. It seems that young boys would be especially fascinated by his writing style paired with the photographs, although anyone interested in science would be delighted by this book. The author makes comparisons to everyday occurrences and objects so that the reader can connect to the enormity of the forces at work in nature: "lightning bolts travel at... up to sixty thousand miles per second. That's six thousand times faster than our fastest spaceships."

Offering safe, at-home solutions is a priority as well, for example, scuffing your feet on the carpet and touching a doorknob, instead of trying the Benjamin Franklin kite experiment. There is also the classic instruction on how to count down, from the lightning to the thunder clap, in order to measure the distance from where you are standing.

Simon leaves us with a reminder of the newest discoveries in lightning and the mysteries of what is still to come from the science world about lightning.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Review from BOOKLIST: "One of those 'must have' books for children's nonfiction collections, this will be useful as well as beautiful for years to come."

Starred Review from THE BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS: "Spacious format, striking photographs, and clear diagrams."

Review from THE HORN BOOK: "Truly compelling."

5. CONNECTIONS

*Readers should experiment with more full color, fascinating text science books by Seymour Simon.

*After reading a book or a series of Simon's books, readers may be interested to travel to a science center or museum to see first hand some of the phenomena present in his books. One example to see from this book is a Van de Graaff static electricity generator, an unforgettable and truly hair-raising experience.