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I Can Read: Level 3
Weather: Poems for All Seasons
This fun collection of poems about the weather is a good way to "lure beginning readers—and also younger listeners—to the joy of sounds that make sense." (Booklist) Booklist praised the range and approachability of the poems collected in this 64-page Level 3 I Can Read collection, "from the catchy nonsense of X. J. Kennedy's 'Snowflake Souffle' to the simple, surprising imagery of Valerie Worth's 'Sun' to Hopkins's own onomatopoeic 'Thunder,' [with] short lines, satisfying rhyme, and physicalness of the words." Weather is a Level Three I Can Read book. Level 3 includes many fun subjects kids love to read about on their own. Themes include friendship, adventure, historical fiction, and science. Level 3 books are written for early independent readers. They include some challenging words and more complex themes and stories. Lee Bennett Hopkins was an acclaimed poet and anthologist. His work was recognized with the Regina Medal from the Catholic Library Association, the National Council of Teachers of English Excellence in Poetry for Children Award, the Christopher Award, and many more. As Lee Bennett Hopkins “Poetry and I fit together. I can’t imagine being without it. It is food and drink, it is all seasons, it is the stuff of all existence.”
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First published January 1, 1994
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About the author
Lee Bennett Hopkins
206 books52 followersLee Bennett Hopkins was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2017. He holds a Guinness Book of Records citation for compiling the most anthologies for children. He has also received the Christopher Award, the Regina Medal, and the National Council of Teachers of English Excellence in Poetry for Children Award. He lives in Florida.
For more information, please see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Ben...
For more information, please see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Ben...
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 25, 2013
A book my 5 yr old loved, a little old for my preschoolers. A solid reading level 2 book, this poem book keeps any poetry fan wanting to read. Being about weather, the vocabulary is a bit on the challenging side sometimes, but great reading practice. A great addition to any children's library.
March 31, 2014
This book has a collection of poems by different authors. Children would love this book, there is rhyming.
Mister Sun by J. Patrick Lewis
Mister Sun Wakes up at dawn,Puts his golden slippers on, Climbs the summer Sky at noon, Trading places With the moon. Mister Sun Runs away With the blue tag End of the day, Switching off the Globe lamplight, Pulling down the Shades of night.
I would use this poem to discuss outside play when the children have activity outside. Discuss moon, sun, sky, and etc.
Mister Sun by J. Patrick Lewis
Mister Sun Wakes up at dawn,Puts his golden slippers on, Climbs the summer Sky at noon, Trading places With the moon. Mister Sun Runs away With the blue tag End of the day, Switching off the Globe lamplight, Pulling down the Shades of night.
I would use this poem to discuss outside play when the children have activity outside. Discuss moon, sun, sky, and etc.
May 21, 2017
My son read this book last year for first grade. It was his first introduction to a study of poetry, and he really enjoyed it.
December 19, 2016
Like Something Sleeping in the Hall and Seasons, Weather is a book of poetry from the I Can Read series. While the other two collections are each written by a single author, Weather is a collection of poems by favorite children's poets such as J. Patrick Lewis, Lilian Moore, and Charlotte Zolotow, as well as famous poets like Carl Sandburg, Ogden Nash, and Christina Rossetti. The book is divided into five sections: Sun, Wind and Clouds, Rain and Fog, Snow and Ice, and Weather Together, and each section captures the feelings and phenomena associated with each type of weather.
In the Sun section, J. Patrick Lewis characterizes the sun as a man who wakes up at dawn and "Puts his golden / Slippers on" while Isabel Joshlin Glaser talks of "Noon's lion-faced sun" which "shakes out / its orangy mane." Valerie Worth refers to the sun as a "leaping fire" and describes the "warm yellow squares" it creates on the floor as it shines through the window. These poems come together to give the reader a sense of the nuances of sunlight. The sun becomes much more than the circle most children draw in the upper corner of the landscape pictures they create.
The poems about Wind and Clouds describe the unpredictability of these weather conditions. Lilian Moore's wind blows all over the page, as the speaker urges the wind not to blow him away. Christina Rossetti likens the clouds to sheep, then wonders where they all go when she can no longer see them. At the end of the section, Judith Thurman likens sparrows scattered by the wind to "a handful of small change / spilled suddenly / from the cloud's pocket."
In their descriptions of Rain and Fog, poets like Carl Sandburg and Charlotte Zolotow capture the thick silence of foggy weather, while David McCord celebrates walking in warm rain and Myra Cohn Livingston notes the differences between a pleasant spring rain and a cold winter one. The strongest poem in this entire section is an excerpt from Joanne Ryder's Inside Turtle's Shell, which shows how blades of grass bent by rain can become bridges for tiny insects.
Snow and Ice captures each of the five senses' reactions to wintry weather. Margaret Hillert's snow goes "crunch" and "scrunch," while Barbara Juster Esbensen's icicles "melt / in your mouth / like cold swords." Dennis Lee talks about how the snow makes us want to "go and lie on things" X.J. Kennedy provides a silly recipe for Snowflake Souffle that includes seven snowflakes, seven eggs, and instructions to "slice off a slice with a rusty iceskate."
The book concludes with poems that celebrate all kinds of weather. Aileen Fisher observes the changing seasons by Looking Out the Window, while Leland B. Jacobs describes each season's rain, including the fact that "winter rain is white rain / but we call it snow."
This book would be a wonderful addition to any early elementary classroom's study of weather. These poems capture the essence of the types of weather kids typically see outside their windows, and they provide insights - both scientific and emotional - into how the weather affects our world and our day to day lives. Though these poems were selected because they can be read by beginning readers, many of them would be just as appropriate to share with older kids, especially those just beginning to understand how to analyze poetry. I'm pleased to note that the book is still in print, nearly 20 years after its initial publication, and I would recommend that teachers, librarians, and parents who work with beginning readers try to get their hands on a copy to share with the kids in their lives!
In the Sun section, J. Patrick Lewis characterizes the sun as a man who wakes up at dawn and "Puts his golden / Slippers on" while Isabel Joshlin Glaser talks of "Noon's lion-faced sun" which "shakes out / its orangy mane." Valerie Worth refers to the sun as a "leaping fire" and describes the "warm yellow squares" it creates on the floor as it shines through the window. These poems come together to give the reader a sense of the nuances of sunlight. The sun becomes much more than the circle most children draw in the upper corner of the landscape pictures they create.
The poems about Wind and Clouds describe the unpredictability of these weather conditions. Lilian Moore's wind blows all over the page, as the speaker urges the wind not to blow him away. Christina Rossetti likens the clouds to sheep, then wonders where they all go when she can no longer see them. At the end of the section, Judith Thurman likens sparrows scattered by the wind to "a handful of small change / spilled suddenly / from the cloud's pocket."
In their descriptions of Rain and Fog, poets like Carl Sandburg and Charlotte Zolotow capture the thick silence of foggy weather, while David McCord celebrates walking in warm rain and Myra Cohn Livingston notes the differences between a pleasant spring rain and a cold winter one. The strongest poem in this entire section is an excerpt from Joanne Ryder's Inside Turtle's Shell, which shows how blades of grass bent by rain can become bridges for tiny insects.
Snow and Ice captures each of the five senses' reactions to wintry weather. Margaret Hillert's snow goes "crunch" and "scrunch," while Barbara Juster Esbensen's icicles "melt / in your mouth / like cold swords." Dennis Lee talks about how the snow makes us want to "go and lie on things" X.J. Kennedy provides a silly recipe for Snowflake Souffle that includes seven snowflakes, seven eggs, and instructions to "slice off a slice with a rusty iceskate."
The book concludes with poems that celebrate all kinds of weather. Aileen Fisher observes the changing seasons by Looking Out the Window, while Leland B. Jacobs describes each season's rain, including the fact that "winter rain is white rain / but we call it snow."
This book would be a wonderful addition to any early elementary classroom's study of weather. These poems capture the essence of the types of weather kids typically see outside their windows, and they provide insights - both scientific and emotional - into how the weather affects our world and our day to day lives. Though these poems were selected because they can be read by beginning readers, many of them would be just as appropriate to share with older kids, especially those just beginning to understand how to analyze poetry. I'm pleased to note that the book is still in print, nearly 20 years after its initial publication, and I would recommend that teachers, librarians, and parents who work with beginning readers try to get their hands on a copy to share with the kids in their lives!
November 22, 2022
Genre: Poetry
Grades: K-3
I liked that there were poems from a variety of authors, both famous and unknown. I like how the authors compared different forms of weather to different animals and objects. I am not a fan of poetry, but this collection was great for elementary students who are just learning about this genre.
Grades: K-3
I liked that there were poems from a variety of authors, both famous and unknown. I like how the authors compared different forms of weather to different animals and objects. I am not a fan of poetry, but this collection was great for elementary students who are just learning about this genre.
March 12, 2014
Weather is a book short, fun poems that describes all kinds of different weather conditions. The illustrations are bright and colorful and and make the poems come to life. Students talking about the weather and how it feels to them outside so teachers can incorporate weather into their morning meetings in a variety of ways. Students can sing a song about what the weather is like outside on that day. The students can write something in their journals like a poem or a description about what the weather is like outside and how it makes them feel. Or every morning the students can watch the weather forecast on t.v. and decide if they want to write about or draw a picture of if they wrote a song/rap/poem they wanted to share with the class they can do that. Talking about weather is exciting for students and teaches them about the various weather conditions.
January 6, 2013
I am planning some Poetry Friday lessons for a primary class and a colleague loaned some of her collection of “I Can Read” books of poetry. This, like the others, includes a wealth of wonderful poems to enjoy by poets such as Valerie Worth, Karla Kuskin, Jack Prelutsky, Charlotte Zolotow, Aileen Fisher, Carl Sandburg, and J. Patrick Lewis. There are poems about cooking, weather, pets, animals, space, and silliness, all the topics that delight young children. Varied illustrators, often showing a bit of whimsy as well as being realistic, illustrate the books. If you don’t know about these, try to find them. There are many books of poetry available and useful, but these will add some gems to your collection.
January 30, 2012
I'm always looking for good children's poetry books. This one is "pretty good". It's nice to have a book of simple poems all dedicated to weather. They are fun to read with preschoolers learning about weather; I also use them with my older girls for handwriting copywork.
Clouds on pg. 22 is a nice one to memorize
A week of weather is a great poem to read and have them write their own days of the week poem using alliteration
Clouds on pg. 22 is a nice one to memorize
A week of weather is a great poem to read and have them write their own days of the week poem using alliteration
August 12, 2014
Weather: Poems for All Seasons (selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins) LEVEL 3
This poetry book will engage younger readers in the delight of all seasons. Creative and captivating, this collection creates a flurry of images from ice cream to fall leaves, all in short, rhyming meter. A great read aloud.
This poetry book will engage younger readers in the delight of all seasons. Creative and captivating, this collection creates a flurry of images from ice cream to fall leaves, all in short, rhyming meter. A great read aloud.
February 28, 2009
I read the poem, On a Summer Day. Great book to teach when doing seasons. It was very short and simple, I did not enjoy the rhyme scheme that much, but it personifies the sun, which could be a great way to introduce personification.
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April 25, 2009This would be awesome if I were teaching the 4 seasons.
April 16, 2010
A short "I Can Read" book with poems purely about weather and the seasons. Some rhyming is hard...but that's just me...
November 19, 2012
I can definitely see this book being incorporated into my classroom. Such simple poems that have to do with all kinds of weather.
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May 12, 2014x2
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews