37 pages • 1 hour read
Tornado
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Summary and Study Guide
Overview
Tornado is a middle-grade novel by Betsy Byars, published in 1996. Byars was a prolific author of fiction for children, known for incorporating emotional themes into engaging stories for young readers. She wrote over 65 books over a long career, several of which include narratives about animals. Tornado won the Sunshine State Young Readers Award, Texas Bluebonnet Award, and South Carolina Children’s Book Award. It is a realistic narrative about life in Tornado Alley in the Central United States and includes themes of Resilience in the Face of Natural Disasters, The Power of Human-Animal Bonds, and Stories as Sources of Comfort and Connection.
This guide refers to the 2020 Harper revised paperback edition, which includes illustrations by Doron Ben-Ami.
Plot Summary
On a rural farm, Pete, a farmhand, yells “Twister!” to warn the family about an approaching tornado. Pete helps the narrator, their two brothers, and a grandmother into the cellar. The narrator’s father, Link, is out in the cornfield. His mother, Betsy, yells for Link, but he is unable to hear her. At Pete’s urging, she follows the rest of the family into the cellar.
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By Betsy Byars
