community.kjrh.com

As a young child, I loved a good Thunderboomer, although the reason why might surprise you.

Oftentimes a thunderstorm meant the power would go out, and that was a GOOD thing. Here's why: for us kids, there was nothing more magical than spending the rest of the evening watching the lightning strikes illuminate the sky in the distance. We'd play hide and seek indoors with flashlights, and dine by candlelight; and the best part was dinner. With the power out, Mom couldn't cook so that meant we had to order in for PIZZA!!! Don't get me wrong, my Mom is a great cook-- but Pizza then ( and now) was a treat. Oftentimes too, it was shortly after the pizza arrived that-- buzz-- the lights would go back on… our bellies would be full and the storm would be miles and miles away.

While Thunderstorms = Pizza for me as a kid, in this week's selected book, Thunderstorms=Thunder Cake.

Never heard of it? Neither had I until I read this calm, cool and comfort food filled tale.

So our week #2 choice:

( Drum roll, please)

"Thunder Cake" by, Patricia Polacco. (Ages 4-8)

What it's about:

This is a story based on true life. As a young girl, Patricia was scared of storms, so her Grandmother cooked up a way to help her get over that fear... literally. They make Thunder Cake!! What's also fun about this book, is that it actually has a recipe for the cake in the back, so you could make it with your kids. Be advised through, it has tomatoes in it. I have never heard of cake with tomatoes, and even though I have had this book for years, never have tried my hand at it. ( I did recently have a 'Thunder Cake' with some kids from Eliot Elementary- but between us… it came from Merritt's Bakery and it was chocolate :)

This is a great story to get kids talking about their fear of weather. Also, it talks about lightning. Be advised though it's not quite accurate when it comes to figuring out how far a storm is away. You could talk about that with this book, and even work on some math skills.

Here’s the lightning formula for real:

Count the seconds between the Flash (of Lightning) to the Bang (of Thunder).

Divide that number by 5 to calculate the distance in miles ( you can divide by 3 for kilometers).

So if it was 15 seconds from flash to bang /5 = 3 miles away (or 5 kilometers).

The delay between when you see the lightning and hear the thunder occurs because sound travels much, much slower than light.

By the way, if you can see the lightning or hear the thunder, it is close enough to strike, so that's when you should get inside.

Good luck with Thunder Cake. Hope you enjoy. Let me know, too, if you actually make the cake. If not, perhaps read the book with pizza.. And have some for me!!

Julie