Rose-Ann Smith, "The Day I Became a Hurricane" (Hooked on Books Jamrock, 2022)

The Day I Became a Hurricane (Hooked on Books Jamrock, 2022) is a children's educational book on hurricanes written by Dr. Rose-Ann Smith. Based on current research on natural disasters and disaster risk management, the book aims to educate children on the development of a hurricane and its impacts. It introduces them to hurricane preparedness while seamlessly interweaving an underlying story about self-acceptance and self-identity. The book therefore manages to accomplish a lot, not only imbuing practical knowledge about hurricanes, but also teaching children important life lessons concerning the perils of peer pressure and getting carried away with power, as well as the importance of accepting yourself for who you are. The book is meant for children in grades 1 to 5 but can be enjoyed by persons of any age who wish to learn more about hurricanes, serving as a very creative means of information dissemination on the topic.

Dr. Smith holds a PhD in Human Geography. She is a lecturer and consultant in disaster risk management and climate change adaptation based at the Department of Geography and Geology, the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. Dr. Smith is passionate about community development and community-based disaster risk management, with a strong focus on resilience building and sustainable livelihoods. Her other areas of interest include cultural tourism, eco-tourism, environmental management, and issues faced by indigenous populations and other highly vulnerable groups. She also believes that children are central to disaster risk reduction. The Day I Became a Hurricane is her first piece of children's literature, and marks the first in a series of books she hopes to develop to educate children on disasters.

Aleem Mahabir is a PhD candidate in Geography at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. His research interests lie at the intersection of Urban Geography, Social Exclusion and Psychology. His dissertation research focuses on the link among negative psychosocial dispositions, exclusion, and under-development among marginalized communities in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. You can find him on Twitter.

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