Ivy Ruckman
Author of Night of the Twisters
About the Author
Works by Ivy Ruckman
Associated Works
Cricket Magazine, Vol. 7, No. 12, August 1980 — Contributor — 3 copies
Cricket Magazine, Vol. 7, No. 11, July 1980 — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1931-05-25
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Places of residence
- Nebraska, USA
Utah, USA - Education
- Hastings College [Hastings, Nebraska, USA]
University of Utah - Occupations
- teacher
children's book author
young adult writer
Members
Reviews
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 16
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 1,043
- Popularity
- #24,687
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 22
- ISBNs
- 49
I read this book when I was younger, but only remembered a few details. I really enjoyed it even as an adult. It's realistic to how kids were back in those days, off riding their bikes or swimming in the local water hole during the summer, especially in a smaller town like this. No cell phones, no video games, and then they went home in the evening to watch Happy Days, which is a little before my time, but I still appreciate the overall feel the author paints of life in the early 80s, when this book was written and set. I also thought that, while the descriptions of the devastation caused by the storm aren't necessarily vast and detailed, they felt realistic to someone like me who's never been in a tornado but has seen the aftermath in pictures or videos. And most likely toned down due to being a book for kids.
There were not a whole lot of characters, but I liked the ones that were around much. Dan's feelings about his little brother throughout were pretty real for a kid his age who had been an only child until the age of 12. Arthur provided an interesting foil in multiple ways. The elderly neighbor Mrs. Smiley and her part in the story made me smile (no pun intended). My only complaint is that I would have liked to know how Officer Kelly ended up. But overall, the book was an exciting, suspenseful read that I think would be great for kids around age 10-12.… (more)