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St. Pete playwright writes kid's audiobook to help navigate hurricane stress during storm season

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Published  June 4, 2025 4:34pm EDT
St. Petersburg
FOX 13 News
Audiobook aims to help kids with hurricane anxiety

Audiobook aims to help kids with hurricane anxiety

FOX 13's Ariel Plasencia introduces you to local artists who are helping kids navigate hurricane stress this year by making an audiobook.

The Brief

    • A St. Petersburg playwright wrote an audiobook for kids to help them navigate hurricane stress this storm season.
    • It’s called "Day of Disaster and Doom! How to Feel Safe When It’s Scary."
    • Tampa Bay actors voice both English and Spanish versions of this book, which can be found on YouTube and include visual art made by artists at the Creative Clay.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Sheila Cowley’s new, free audiobook is about a little girl who organizes her own version of a hurricane kit as the adults around her prepare for a hurricane. She said community members encouraged her to write a book on this topic after some kids reported being "more scared than usual this year about hurricanes." 

"You can't tell kids that nothing's going to happen. But you can say that whatever happens, we live in a community, and you're not alone," the St. Pete playwright told FOX 13. 

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Local perspective:

The audiobook also includes paintings by artists at the Creative Clay, which is a St. Petersburg art studio for adults with physical and developmental disabilities. 

"I asked them if they had any storm-related paintings, so there are several storm-related, fantastic paintings from Creative Clay in the beginning of the story," said Cowley, who is a playwright with Sparks Creative Stories. 

Tampa Bay area actors voice both English and Spanish versions of this book, including USF School of Theatre and Dance professor, Dora Arreola. 

READ: Hurricane 2025: What to pack in your emergency kit

"I am free when I’m doing the recording," Arreola told FOX 13 of her voice-over process. "So I move, I play, I do a lot of stuff that it will come out through the voice."

The family in the book evacuates to a shelter and later returns to a damaged home. But the audiobook also highlights the clean-up process and how the young main character’s strength helps her little brother feel safe. 

"I think it's an opportunity to teach them how important it is to be in a community during this moment. And so that's my intention, is to deal with the different levels of support that children need for these events," Arreola said. "We should not forget that."

The audiobook is available in English and Spanish on YouTube. 

The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13's Ariel Plasencia. 

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