Helping kids through emotionally stormy times

“Clearly as a funnel cloud touching down on the flat prairie horizon, I can see what is coming next. Toddlers control the weather, and it is time to take over.”

Teresa Wong, “Tantrum Series” 

I happened to read these words in the essay collection Good Mom on Paper just a few days after encountering Drew Beckmeyer’s amusing and clever new children’s book. Using imagery of severe weather to explore experiences with upset children makes sense to me. Even with our youngest almost out of the toddler stage, my husband and I still sometimes find ourselves on “storm watch.” We are aware that tough moods might suddenly strike — and we hope that we can be helpful to our kids if and when they do.  

At any age people can be overwhelmed with emotions such as anger and frustration. Young children, however, are just developing the tools they need to understand and communicate what they’re feeling during temper tantrums and other difficult moments. While Beckmeyer’s book doesn’t necessarily offer a prescriptive or easy fix for such challenges, it is a compassionate and imaginative resource — one that is truly delightful to read aloud. 

Beckmeyer’s I Am a Tornado is the story of a (you guessed it) tornado blasting through the desert landscape with reckless, irritated fury. Tornado wildly sweeps up everything in sight, including an unassuming yet chatty cow. The book’s text is the back-and-forth dialogue between these two very different characters — with Tornado’s words fittingly in ALL CAPITALS. Beckmeyer’s vibrant cut-paper artwork makes each page feel almost like a lively scene in an animated video. 

“Tornado? Is everything okay?” Cow dares to inquire while being tossed about. “NOTHING BOTHERS ME” Tornado insists, and also claims that all of the throwing and yelling “MAKES ME FEEL BETTER.” Cow is a patient listener and gently asks about the possible reasons behind Tornado’s distress (and even protects the destructive gust of wind from alarmed, camera-wielding scientists). There’s a charming bit about the science of how wind variations create a tornado, too.

Eventually Cow’s respectful, empathetic approach helps Tornado to calm down. After being freed from the swirling current, Cow chooses to stay and suggests that the two of them sit together for a moment, quiet and still. And they do. “WILL YOU STAY TILL I BLOW AWAY?” asks Tornado. And Cow does. The last pages feature wavy lines suggesting that the once angrily thrashing Tornado has dissipated into wisps of wind travelling on through a beautiful starlit sky.

Although I Am a Tornado takes place in a desert landscape, the ending made me think of the nourishing words from an oft-quoted Psalm: “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters” (Psa. 23:2). There’s much to appreciate about Cow’s even-keeled and compassionate response to Tornado’s spiralling feelings. 

I suspect that parents, teachers and others who engage with children – as well as young children themselves – will be both heartened and entertained by this endearing tale of giving and receiving assistance in emotionally stormy times.