Miss Mingo Weathers the Storm

Gr 1–3—Enthusiastic and competent Miss Mingo takes her class of animals, insects, and sea creatures hiking. Everyone looks forward to visiting the weather observatory at the top of High Hill. Groundhog predicts that it will be a perfect day for the outing. As the students and their flamingo teacher make their way toward their destination, they encounter oppressive heat and then get caught in a hailstorm. When the hail abates, the rain pours down and the fog rolls in. Thanks to the quick thinking of Groundhog, the intrepid hikers finally reach the station. The atmosphere throws them one more curveball in the form of a brief blizzard, and the delighted children play in the snow. Instead of hiking back, Miss Mingo transports the laughing students downhill on a toboggan. The watercolor and ink illustrations add a splash of color and humor to the story. The individual personalities and feelings of the characters are evident by their expressive faces. The story is supplemented by brief facts about animals and the weather. "Ants build and fortify their nests as rain approaches. They finish off by closing the entrance to the nest." Though interesting, the placement of these informational paragraphs interrupts the flow of the narrative. This storm-filled adventure may be paired with Joan Holub's Groundhog Weather School (Putnam, 2009).—Linda L. Walkins, Mount Saint Joseph Academy, Brighton, MA