Night of the Twisters

• Genre: Fiction; natural disaster; middle grade
• Originally Published: 1984
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 750L; Grades 4-7
• Structure/Length: 16 chapters; 160 pages; approximately 2 hours, 49 minutes on audiobook
• Protagonist/Central Conflict: The protagonist is Dan Hatch, a 12-year-old boy who, along with his best friend Arthur, faces the challenge of surviving a night of destructive tornadoes in Grand Island, Nebraska. The central conflict revolves around their struggle to find safety and their desperate search for their families in the aftermath of the disaster.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Natural disasters and their effects; fear and danger; loss and grief

Ivy Ruckman, Author

• Bio: Born 1926; died 2016; American author, primarily known for children's and young adult novels; former English teacher; member of the Nebraska Writers Guild and the Society of Children's Book Writers
• Other Works: Melba the Brain (1981); The Terrible, Awful, Horrible, Deplorable, Lovable Little Troll (1982); M Is for Mischief (1988); Night of the Radishes (1995)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Guide:

• Friendship as Sustenance
• The Strength of Family
• Community and Close Bonds

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Guide, students will:

• Gain an understanding of the social and scientific events from June 3, 1980, on which the book is based.