How's the Weather where you are?

I have a thermometer on the back porch. Every morning I pull on my fuzzy boots, jacket, hat, scarf, mittens… and brave the winter cold to check it. One side measures the minimum – how cold it got over night (18? Brrrrr!). The other side measures the maximum – how warm it got yesterday (only 28? Really?). Then I race back inside and grab a cup of coffee and debate whether it’s going to be a go-outside-and-walk day, or a snuggle-under-the-quilt-and-read day. 

What's the Weather? (What, Why, or Where?)

32 pages; ages 4-8

Arbordale Publishing, 2020

theme: weather, earth science

Weather is all around us – every day, all day. It can change from minute to minute, hour to hour, and day to day.

One of my favorite seasons to weather-watch is winter because there are so many things to see. Depending on how cold the air is, snow can float down like feathers, or sift down like sand. Frozen pellets tap and rattle against windows, and a breeze on a quiet day can make beech leaves whisper. 

What I like about this book: Each spread shows some aspect of weather and season, and poses a question to explore. From clouds to precipitation to severe weather, this book introduces young children to what’s happening in the atmosphere outside. Back matter includes tips for making weather observations, a cloud identification chart, and the difference between weather and climate.

Beyond the Book:

What does the sky look like today? Go outside and look up. If there are clouds, what do they look like? How much of the sky do they cover?

Paint the sky. Well, not the real sky, but try to find a color that matches the sky and paint a swatch in your nature notebook. Do this over a few months and see what you notice. I’ve noticed that my winter sky has a flatter, darker shade of blue than spring and summer. If you don’t have paints, then try to find the color using a color chart. Here's one... you might even find paint chips at the hardware store that match sky colors.

If you have a thermometer, make a chart of daily temperatures over the season. Look at the thermometer at the same time each day. (Make sure your thermometer is out of direct sunlight.)

Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Where the Snow flies

The other day I went for a walk and discovered that weather can be very local. Heading down one road, we were buffeted by cold wind and snow falling around us. But - turn a corner and walk a few hundred steps - and we're surrounded by sunshine. And it's ten degrees warmer (no wind!). Taking a look back, I could see the flurry - a faint cloud hugging the trees and road we'd just walked.

Likewise, in the summer we get local rain showers. It can be pouring buckets in the village, but turn onto our road and it's dry. There's often a clear division showing where the cloud sat. On that side: rain. On this: nothing.

How's the local weather where you live?

Do Frogs Drink Hot Chocolate?

Keeping warm in winter is tough for those of us living in the colder parts of the world. I keep warm by pulling on an extra sweater, wearing fuzzy slippers, and drinking hot cocoa. So when I saw the cover of this book, I knew I had to review it! Because... hot chocolate and frogs! And because the cover is so inviting!

themes: animals, winter, nature

Do Frogs Drink Hot Chocolate?
By Etta Kaner ; illus. by John Martz
32 pages; ages 4-8
Owlkids, 2018

When it gets cold out, do animals turn up the heat?
No!

Using a question-answer format, this book explores how animals survive chilly - and downright frigid - weather. Thankfully, the hot chocolate question gets answered right away. I'll save you the suspense: Frogs do not drink hot cocoa. They don't even try to keep warm. In fact, some of them turn into frogsicles during winter. Brrrrr!

What I like about this book: I love the diversity of strategies that are presented for keeping warm. Penguins snuggle, butterflies sunbathe, and some animals build snow dens (snow is a great insulator!). Things animals don't do: jump up and down, wear ear muffs, drink hot chocolate. Well, wild animals may not do those things, but I can think of one animal that does all three: humans.

32 pages; ages 3-7. NGK, 2018

Now that you know ways to keep warm in winter, it's time to head outside and explore the weather. This new book from National Geographic Kids introduces young children to all different sorts of weather, from Whoosh! of wind to the drip-drop of rain. There's a spread explaining how droplets can freeze in the clouds and fall to the ground as snow.

Given the variability we've seen in our winter thus far - freezing rain, snow, wind, rain, 26 degrees one day, 50 the next - this might be the perfect book to inspire the pre-K to first-grade crowd to observe weather around them. Back matter includes photos and short explanations of "wild weather" (floods, blizzards, hail) and the instruments that scientists use to study the weather.

Beyond the Books:
What do you do to stay warm in winter? Think about the clothes you wear, things you eat, activities, whether you hibernate...

Polar bears and penguins (and other cold-weather animals) have a layer of fat that helps them stay warm. How does that work? Try this: Fill a bowl partway with cold water and toss in a bunch of ice cubes. Put one of your fingers in the icy water. How long can you keep it there until it gets too cold?
Now, dry off your finger and coat it with a thick layer of shortening. Pop it back in the icy water. How long can you keep your finger in the water? Instructions here.

Keep a winter weather logbook. Some things you can keep track of in your book include: temperature outside, whether it's windy or calm, what the sky looks like, snow or rain or ice... and remember to write the date for each observation. You might also jot down any birds or animals you see outside.

Today we're joining other book bloggers over at STEM Friday, where you can discover other cool STEM books. And we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website . Review copies provided by the publishers.

Weather and Meteorology

Little Kids First Big Book of Weather
by Karen de Seve
128 pages; ages 4-8
National Geographic Children's Books, 2017

I like this book because it is so browsable. Sure, it's divided into chapters. In fact there are seven of them, including a chapter focusing on hot weather, one focusing on windy weather, one on cold weather, and one on rainy weather. There's a chapter devoted to clouds and one that explains how scientists study the weather (so we know what's headed our way).

But here's the thing: you can just flip through until something catches your eye - like the photo of an ice-encrusted car or the very cool photo that captures a raindrop splattering apart on a flower petal. Reading stuff on that page will make a kid want to dive in deeper, find out more.

There are also plenty of pop-up facts (aka: textboxes) and questions that encourage conversations on the topic... like the last time you chased after a piece of paper blown away by the wind (or maybe it was a hat). There are games and mazes at the end of chapters and a great "parent's" section at the back with more activities for curious kids.

Meteorology, Cool Women who Weather Storms
by Karen B. Gibson; illus. by Lena Chandhok
112 pages; ages 9-12
Nomad Press, 2017

This is another great title in the Girls in Science series. But here's the cool thing: you don't have to be a girl to read it. Sure, it focuses on three women who conduct weather science, and yes, there are lots of short biographies of even more women in meteorology...
But the first two chapters introduce the science of meteorology and why it is important.

Regardless of your gender, weather affects your life. As we've seen over the past year, severe storms have a tremendous impact on towns and cities, destroying homes and encouraging some people to move to a new place. And when you're in the path of a storm, those forecasts are important.

Bianca Hernandez is one of the scientists profiled. She tells about storm-chasing and dropwindsondes, which are released from aircraft and collect data as they parachute towards the ground. You'll also learn about phased-array radar and other technology used by weather scientists. There's also a great discussion on the difference between weather and climate, and the relationship between climate change and weather.

Today we're joining the STEM Friday roundup. Review copies from the publishers.

Eye of the Storm

In the United States, 10 million people live in hurricane danger zones. Given the storms of the past few weeks, I figured now would be the perfect time to introduce Amy Cherrix's book - released this spring.

Eye of the Storm: NASA, drones, and the race to crack the hurricane code (Scientists in the Field Series)
by Amy Sherrix
80 pages; ages 10-14
HMH, 2017

Cherrix is no stranger to hurricanes, having survived the devastation of four major storms. So her first chapter, a story of a family caught by Hurricane Sandy (October, 2012) tingles with true life fight for survival.

Sandy, you may recall, was a "frankenstorm" - a combined hurricane-snowstorm. Thought it was classified as a category 1 hurricane (Irma was category 5, Harvey a category 4) it was much larger. Sandy measured 1100 miles across and affected 24 states, from Maine to Florida and as far west as Michigan and Wisconsin. While the coast suffered from rain and storm surge, inland areas were buried in three feet of snow.

The thing is, meteorologists can, using weather satellites and early warning systems, see hurricanes taking shape days - sometimes weeks - before they make landfall. Cherrix introduces us to the researchers behind the science and tools that meteorologists depend on. But first, she gives us a physics lesson in hurricane formation.

Did you know that Atlantic hurricanes are "born" in the driest place on earth? They come from the Sahara Desert, and some of that desert dust may affect the intensity of the hurricane. Cyclonic storms are forming all around the earth all times of the year. We may not be able to stop them from forming, says Cherrix, but we can certainly learn more about how they grow and change. And while she points out that we can't control the force (or intensity) of these storms, there are some who say that our contributions to climate change has done just that. "A warming planet means wetter storms, higher storm surges and more intense hurricanes, according to NASA's Earth Observatory," explains a recent article in the Houston Chronicle. 

Eye of the Storm reads like a science adventure. We meet the scientists who follow the data that their probes send back. Some of those are dropsondes, probes that fall through the storm and measure pressure, temperature, humidity, wind speed, and gps locations. They also send out thousands of rapid light pulses each second that scatter off particles in the storm and are bounced back to an instrument that reads the data. There are drone pilots on the ground and an in-air pilot to keep an eye in the sky.

At the end, Cherrix has an emergency preparedness checklist: an evacuation kit to put together before the storm, how to prepare for pet evacuations, and what to do after the storm. There's also a great list of apps for smart phones and tablets, and more.

Today we're joining the STEM Friday roundup. Drop by STEM Friday blog for more science books and resources. Review copy from the publisher.

First Big Book of How

Little Kids First Big Book of How
by Jill Esbaum
128 pages; ages 4-8
National Geographic Kids, 2016

This book lives up to its name: it has a little bit of everything in it written in small sections in language kids will understand. Want to know how ice cream is made or how microwave ovens work? It's in there. Want to know about bicycle gears? It's in there. Want to learn the best way to make bread moldy? It's in there too.

The section I like best is the one about animals because - there are OCEAN animals in there!
Jellyfish. Octopuses. Humpback whales.

Jellyfish have long, soft tentacles - but beware! They have venom and can shoot that so fast you don't even know you've been stung until it's already happened.

Octopuses are amazing creatures: they have no bones and can squeeze anywhere, and have three hearts. Also, they squirt ink when they're startled or afraid. There's a couple photographs to show where the ink comes out, and what it looks like. And did you know that the smallest octopus can sit on a penny?

The section about humpback whales focuses on how they communicate with each other. They sing. They make bloop-bloop sounds. They groan and moan. They even slap their tails on the surface of the water. All those sounds must mean something - but what?

There's a table of contents listing topics by group: around the home, human body, animals, and more. There's also an index to aid in searches for specific topics. Each section ends with a game and throughout the book there are lots of hands-on investigations. There's even a page of "parent tips" with additional activities - including a recipe for ice cream. 

Today's review is part of the STEM Friday roundup. Drop by STEM Friday blog for more science books and resources. Review copy from publisher.

Summer Reading... Butterflies, Weather and More

If you're looking for some books that encourage young children to get out and explore nature, you might want to check out some of these new series from Bearport Publishing. They're all aimed at a second-grade reading level, but preschool nature detectives will love the bright photos and backyard activities. 

How do You Know it's Summer is part of a series about the seasons by Ruth Owen. She encourages children to keep track of the temperature from week to week and make notes about the kinds - and colors - of flowers blooming around the yard. Look at how leaves change over the season, she says, and what sorts of insects hang out. And there's a summer scavenger hunt in the back.  Yes, I could have posted this review last month - but there are still six more weeks of summer - plenty of time to head outside and fill a nature journal with cool (or hot) observations.

Speaking of "cool and hot", there's a new Weatherwise series, with books on climate and weather. They're full of photos and facts, a great introduction to help sort out what is the difference between snow, ice, hail or between weather and climate (something adults have difficulty remembering).

Having devoted an entire week to moths last month, I need to at least mention the new butterfly book, A Butterfly's Life by Ellen Lawrence. It's part of the "Animal Diaries" series. Each spread features a diary entry (written by a kid, not a caterpillar) and great photos of a Monarch butterfly's life cycle, from egg to adult. Lawrence includes lots of activities, from going on a caterpillar hunt to creating a butterfly fruit breakfast club. And she lists a few favorite butterfly plants you can grow in your garden - jot them down on your calendar so you remember to plant them next spring!

For science adventure into  places you normally can't go, check out the "Hole Truth" series. Want to know what a fox den or chipmunk's home is really like? Dee Phillips takes you there with an underground home tour: here's the bedroom, there's the pantry, and yonder are a couple extra doors in case you need to get home in a hurry.

Check out other resources at STEM Friday. Also check out the book reviews at the Nonfiction Monday round-up. Review copies provided by publisher.

STEM Friday - Prairie Storms

Prairie Storms

Written by Darcy Pattison; illus. by Kathleen Rietz

32 pages, for ages 4-8

Sylvan Dell Publishing, 2011

December on the prairie can be tough. “A blizzard rages, a sudden whiteout. The bison herd turns, facing into the teeth of the wind,” writes Darcy Pattison in her newest book, Prairie Storms.

Storms may not bother the bison, but when I hear the wind howling and the sleet rattling at my windows, I make a hot cup of cocoa and snuggle up with a good book.

Pattison raises an interesting question: what do animals do when the snow flies? How do they deal with rain and hail? Month-by-month she takes us into the secret lives of prairie animals: into the burrows of prairie dogs; into the den of a cougar. Who knew that skunks roll up balls of straw to close their doorway? At the end of the book she's included some activities for curious and creative minds.
 

Pattison lives in Little Rock, Arkansas, a town right on the edge of the prairie, she says. And while it’s not the “Great Prairie” of the Midwest, it served as inspiration and an outdoor lab for her as she worked on the book.

“I wanted to write about animals,” she said. She wanted to explore the relationship between animals and their habitats, but in a different way. “And when you live on the prairie, the sky is the biggest thing around,” she said. So Pattison began investigating how different creatures deal with weather. And that meant a lot of research. And a lot of field trips to the Baker PrairieNatural Area, just outside of Harrison.

Then she started thinking about how to pull all the nifty stuff she learned into a book. Picture books have 14 spreads (the double-page illustrations), she pointed out. “So doing something that focused on the 12 months seemed natural.” Pattison then made two lists: one of the mammals and birds and reptiles she’d seen; the other about the kinds of storms her prairie areas experience over the span of a year.

How did she get the prose so lyrical? “I wrote it as poetry, first,” Pattison admitted.

What was the neat new thing she learned? “Earless lizards!” she said. Despite their name, they hear well enough.

This is part of STEM Friday. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Check out what great books other people are reviewing below. To add a link to your blog, just leave a comment or send an email to sueheaven [at] gmail [dot] com. I'll check periodically throughout the day.

Jeff Barger reviews How Does Medicine Know Where you Hurt? over at NC Teacher Stuff.

Shirley reviews The Life of Rice at Simply Science. She always includes some activities with her reviews.

Anastasia Suen introduces a pop-up physics book, Feel the Force over at Chapter Book of the Day.

Not a review, but worth checking out: an interesting post on the importance of integrating art with STEM at INK.