I Am a Tornado

An endearing portrayal of an emotional meltdown told with humor and compassion.

As an anthropomorphized tornado wreaks havoc, a cow caught and carried along does its best to de-escalate things. Related via their conversations and Beckmeyer's animated, cut-paper illustrations . . . the boisterous story does nicely portray the ways intense weather (and moods) will eventually abate.

In an entertaining story about the power of compassion, an anthropomorphic tornado finds an empathetic ear--and some emotional support--from an unexpected source. Tornado, a menacing twisty gray funnel of cloud, barrels into a rural scene, flipping farm animals and buildings with abandon and sucking up a russet-brown cow. As Tornado continues shouting and spinning, the cow, now along for the ride, asks, "Tornado, is everything okay?" The back-and-forth that follows might well be a primer for emotional de-escalation. Tornado initially remains on the defensive ("I AM SUPER POWERFUL AND TALL... NOTHING BOTHERS ME"), while the patient cow uses a multi-pronged approach of sincerity, empathy, and occasional meteorological sidebars to understand the spiral's motivation. Slowly, bovine encouragement brings about a transformation for Tornado, who moves from "I'M GONNA GO TOSS 'EM" to "WILL YOU STAY TILL I BLOW AWAY?" Featuring distant mountains and wide-open spaces, cut-paper artwork with a 3D quality slowly shifts with the protagonists' emotional state, showing the cow growing ever larger and expressive Tornado smaller. Beckmeyer (Dear Wild Child) delivers a relatable, conversational power-down that is by turns gentle, funny, and vulnerable. Ages 4-8. Agent: Stephanie Fretwell-Hill, Red Fox Literary. (May)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

[I Am a Tornado] 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. . . It's all as wonderfully wacky as it sounds.  — Shelf Awareness