When Bully-Wind Bob Comes to Town is my latest picture book. This book had a different genesis as it was both commissioned and published by the Townsville Local Disaster Management Group through Townsville City Council.
Aimed at 4-8 year olds Bully-Wind begins with Sophie and Stephen at their grandparent's house. When the power goes off due to the storm Grandma tells them a story about when she was their age and a cyclone (Cyclone Althea) hit Townsville on Christmas Eve 1971.
The book is to be linked to Teacher Notes on the Townsville City Council website and every school in the region is to be given one class set. The idea is that students in the Townsville region can enjoy the story and learn the cyclone safety message at the same time. Hopefully they'll also take it home to their parents!
I got to do some research which wasn't included in the book. Did you know that the worst (most intense and destructive) recorded cyclone to hit Australia was not Cyclone Tracy which destroyed Darwin on Christmas Eve/Day 1974, but Cyclone Mahina which hit Princess Charlotte Bay on March 4, 1899. The cyclone destroyed the pearling fleet at anchor there and the storm surge was recorded at between 13 and 14 metres high. Hundreds of people died.
Cyclones are serious and we all have to know how to stay safe in them. That's the message behind Bully-Wind Bob.
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