Hurricanes and Hopes

June-November is hurricane season where I live. We keep an eye on the tropics, paying attention to storm watches and warnings. Whether planning our evacuation routes and destinations, packing for a stay in a hurricane shelter, or staying in our homes, we follow the instructions in our hurricane preparation guides. Referring to checklists, we take steps to safeguard our properties and stock our pantries with nonperishable food, water, medicines, and other essentials. Those of us who have generators refer to manuals that explain how to run them safely. We tune in to radio reports telling us the places to avoid due to floods and downed power lines, and the places to go in order to find or give assistance.
 
Thanks to the plentiful announcements, guides, manuals, checklists, and news reports, we know just what to do to prepare, get through the storm, and manage until utilities, stores, and everyday services are back.
 
But the announcements, guides, manuals, checklists, and news reports say nothing about how to handle our emotions.
 
This month’s spotlight shines on a story that speaks to a child’s feelings in the face of the storm.

A hurricane is coming. Lupita feels worry surging through everyone around her: her parents, her friends, her neighbors, her teacher. She fills with worry, too. Will the storm gobble them up? Will it blow her house away? Will the storm last a long time? Will it knock down her favorite tree?
 
As Lupita navigates the storm within as well as the storm outside, she receives tender loving care. She also provides it.
 
The Care Lupita Receives
 
Through their words and actions, Lupita’s parents bolster her ability to manage the intense emotions stirred by the hurricane.
 
Before the storm, Mami and Papi assure her, “It’s OK to be scared.” They reassure her, “We’ll be safer if we prepare.” Lupita watches Papi close the shutters and Mami bring the planters indoors.
 
During the storm, Lupita and her parents stay close together. Mami and Papi distract Lupita from the howling winds and rattling shutters by playing cards and board games. When the tornado siren sounds, they lead Lupita to the sturdiest place in the house: a closet. They huddle together. When the power goes out, Lupita’s parents murmur, “It’s going to be okay.”
 
The storm passes. Papi announces, “It’s over.” Going outside with her parents, Lupita finds the sun is shining. Along with her parents, she checks on friends and neighbors.
 
The Care Lupita Provides
 
As her parents prepare for the storm’s arrival, Lupita asks, “What can I do?”
 
Lucky, her puppy needs to go outside, so Lupita takes him. Beneath the palm trees, she discovers two baby birds, palomitas. They are nestled in the grass, peeping loudly in distress. “A storm is coming!” she tells them. “Fly away! You need to stay safe!”
 
But the palomitas are too young to fly. With the wind whipping up, they have fallen from their nest. The sky darkens. The first raindrops fall.
 
The birds’ mother is nowhere to be seen.
 
Lupita resolves to take care of the palomitas, and Lucky, like her parents take care of her. She will keep the animals safe and calm.
 
Cradling the birds in her hands, Lupita brings them indoors. She decides to make them a nest, so they will be safe and secure. After considering several options, Lupita chooses an empty shoebox. She fills the bottom with shredded newspaper. The little birds snuggle in. Lupita sets out a tiny bowl of water for them.
 
Lupita keeps her puppy and the birds near her as the family plays cards and games. When they all huddle in the closet, Lupita curls up beside the shoebox and holds Lucky in her lap. When the power goes out, Lupita uses a flashlight to check on the birds. Just like her parents do for her, she tells the palomitas and Lucky, “It’s going to be okay.” When Papi announces that the storm is over, Lupita informs the animals.
 
When it is safe to go outside, Lupita brings the palomitas back into the yard. Along with her family and neighbors, Lupita helps to clear away debris.  She is reunited with neighbors and friends…and the little birds are reunited with their mother, who arrives with the sunset.
 
Coping and Hoping
 
Through Lupita’s dual roles, receiving care and providing care, this story strongly models and reinforces skills for weathering the emotional storm.
 
Self-Management:
Lupita builds skills for managing her stressful emotions. Her parents’ reassuring statements provide words she uses to calm herself and the animals. The practical steps her parents take before, during, and after the storm show Lupita ways to optimize safety, keep her mind from focusing on worries, and restore order after the storm. Lupita follows her parents’ example, applying her own planning and organizational skills. She constructs a comfortable nest for the birds, keeps the animals close to her, checks on them, and verbally reassures them.
 
Self-Awareness:
By successfully caring for the palomitas, Lupita enhances her sense of self-efficacy. She does not feel helpless. She is able to rise to a challenge.
 
Social Awareness:
Lupita is aware of others’ feelings and needs. Before the hurricane, she is alert to the worries affecting her family and community. During and after the storm, she wonders whether her friends, neighbors, and teacher are safe. After the storm, she reconnects with everyone and pitches in to help with the clean-up. Lupita’s empathy and compassion extend to her puppy and the baby birds, prompting her to take action to ensure their welfare.
 
Responsible Decision-Making:
When Lupita finds the baby birds, she identifies the problem. They cannot fly away, and their mother is not there to provide whatever care she could. Lupita then devises and implements means to address the problem.
 
An Extra-Special Story
Lupita, her parents, and her puppy already provide the elements of a highly effective coping-with-a-hurricane story, but the added element of the flightless palomitas makes this book really soar. Lupita, feeling helpless, encounters the baby birds, who are far more helpless. The interplay of Lupita both receiving care and giving care amplifies the social-emotional threads, making this an especially empowering story for readers. Alexandra Alassandri’s author’s note adds another boost, as we learn how Lupita’s caretaking role was inspired. Just before a hurricane, Alexandra and her family discovered baby mourning doves in a fallen nest. They cared for the tiny birds during the storm, and, yes, when the storm passed, the birds’ mother returned.

An Educator's Guide
On the publisher’s website, Beaming Books provides an educator’s guide that includes social-emotional activities. Children can use the “Anxious Storm Clouds,” to identify things that make them nervous, and the “Rainbow of Hope” to explore ways to cope with big, overwhelming emotions.