My First Fact File Weather: Everything you Need to Know

My First Fact File

by Jen Green

Weather is all around us. It affects everything we do, from the way we travel and the houses we live in, to the food we eat and the clothes we choose to wear.
 
My First Fact Weather is a first introduction to the fascinating subject of weather for children aged 5 and up. Learn about how the seasons impact on weather around the world. Find out what causes different kinds of weather to happen, from tornadoes and hurricanes to rain and snow. Discover how extreme weather, such as droughts and floods, affect our world, and what we can do to combat climate change.
 
Packed with missions, projects and activities, readers will learn everything they need to know about the amazing world of weather.

Genres: Childrens, Nonfiction

48 pages, Paperback

Published July 23, 2019

About the author

Jen Green is a British author of over 300 non-fiction books for children and adults. She earned a doctorate in English literature from Sussex University and became a full-time writer after a career in publishing. She lives near the Sussex Downs.

Reviews

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Visually appealing, well-organised, informative, a real treat for both parents and children who want to know more and understand better a variety of natural phenomena related to the weather.

The book covers the five layers of the atmosphere, oceans and seas and how they help to spread the heat around the planet, the Beaufort scale of wind strength measurement, the water cycle, a clear guide to basic cloud types, rain, hail and lightning, extreme weather such as hurricanes, tornadoes and droughts, and, of course, the Earth's climate change. In short, this is a marvellously comprehensive introduction into meteorology, written in an accessible way and coupled with practical activities and experiments to let the young reader discover how the science of the weather works.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ivy Kids for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

[Etienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book and collection are very well done. Short documentary for kids around 8-10 years old maybe. It's well explain, well organized, as good illustrations to help understand and even have some simple but really cool activities that kids can do at home. There is a couple of those on various subject, so I suggest you look them up and see if your children have an interest in some of their subject, if so, I would definitely recommend looking them up!

[Erika Sarutobi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

This book is focused mostly on the weather and the how's especially about rain, snow and natural disasters because of the weather. My favorite part of the book is how scientists figure out what's going to be the weather in the coming days.

Like the Ocean fact file, it mentions global warming but very briefly compared to the Ocean fact file. The tips as well are just repetition of the summary of the chapter.

I've read each of these fact files before posting the reviews and since they're technically almost the same books, though just with different topics, my reviews may be similar to each other.

What I liked about these fact files was that they were short and to the point. The art is simple but childishly cute and it was nice that they covered the whole page. There are tips and also activities mentioned in some pages.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the digital copy for an honest review.

[Octopodey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good explanation of basic weather systems, and includes things I'd forgotten like layers of the atmosphere and what the different cloud types are/mean, so that's great. I appreciate that the book even explains rains of frogs. I like the inclusion of the at-home experiments as well. Hands-on learning is so awesome.

I would really love to see a book use a more accurate map than the incorrect Mercator projection. (You can google "Mercator projection distortion" for more info.) Kids books especially have an obligation to get this correct from the very start.

I appreciate the inclusion of climate change and the fact that it will have a drastic impact on weather and that will in turn decrease our ability to live in the world. As always the solutions given are individual, not systemic-level. I'd love to see more "petition governments to hold large businesses accountable" but I guess perhaps that's advanced for a kids' book.

I received a free eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

[Ann T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Quatro and Netgalley for this ARC.

This book was thoroughly enjoyed by myself and my child, there balance of facts and illustrations was good and it provided lots of opportunity to discuss weather patterns and how these affect different people and where they live.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short, colorful, fact-filled children's book on weather. Each topic gets a two-page spread and there's sometimes a short experiment given to extend kids' understanding. Examples of topics are biomes, oceans and seas, seasons, the atmosphere, climate, tornadoes, why it rains, and future weather. The text is brief enough to keep kids interested and the illustrations are quite helpful.

The reasons I didn't give it more stars:

1. It's hard to know the intended age. Much of it is stuff kids learn in kindergarten or first grade (or should) but then it's long and full of enough text that it seems more designed for older kids. The first page has a rainbow and asks kids if they know that rainbows are formed by sunlight shining through raindrops. What kid doesn't? But then the spread on highs, lows and fronts would probably be confusing to even an older kid.

2. There were areas where I was frustrated by incomplete information, such as the section on the water cycle. Modern water cycle information now includes either adding transpiration (plants and trees taking the moisture back up from the soil and releasing it through their leaves) or combining transpiration and evaporation into evapotranspiration. The water cycle cannot work without the work of plants and trees in transpiration (see https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/wa...).

3. Climate change information is added to the back, almost as an afterthought, instead of being included in the entire book where it effects many of the subjects covered. Even the section on climate does not include any information about climate change. Then at the end, it says that earth's climate changes naturally but slowly, and that pollution has added more greenhouse gases that are speeding up climate change. The next page says that future weather will be more unpredictable (more droughts, storms, etc.) because of climate change and suggests small steps that individuals can take to slightly slow it down (turn off electronics when not in use, walk instead of taking a car...). This soft pedaling of the subject isn't doing anybody any favors and is just more of the same. We must start taking big steps to slow climate change, and that must include our governments and our corporations taking the biggest steps.

All that said, this is a fun and informational primer on weather that kids are likely to enjoy and learn from.

My rating system:
1 = hated it
2 = it was okay
3 = liked it
4 = really liked it
5 = love it, plan to purchase, and/or would buy it again if it was lost

I read a temporary digital ARC of the book for the purpose of review.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reasonable primer for all things climatic, that will serve pretty well in a primary school library. Pleasant double-page spreads attest to the strong design, while the text is basically an introductory paragraph, and other bit-bots, with the artwork's captions conveying many factoids. You also get ideas for perfectly kitchen-table-friendly science experiments, which will add to this volume's shelf life. Topics covered are perfectly sensible, ranging from the Beaufort scale of wind force, to how hurricanes and tornados are formed, what creates snow, hail and thunderstorms, and more. The brevity of it all is enough to make us hopeful the closing sections on climate change do not get ignored. I do think the book was pitched rather young, however, with every spread getting a 'quick facts' box-out that was stating the obvious and rather repetitive. That aside, this series of non-fiction guides looks to be one worth consideration.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

My First Fact File Weather is part of a series of short fact and exercise books aimed at younger children (K-2+). Released 23rd July 2019 by Quarto on their Ivy Kids imprint, it's 48 pages and available in paperback format.

Very well done book, and an interesting and worthwhile series. I've been touting STE(A)M education for decades. This book is engaging and colorful. Facts are presented in context with color gouache paintings on each double page. Relevant information is presented in sidebars. The included STEAM activities are also presented in sidebars at the bottom of the pages. Possibly worth noting, the book uses British spellings: 'clingfilm', 'kilometres', etc. The instances are few, and clear in context, so it's not a problem, but probably worthy of comment in a review.

Chapters are short and cover the water cycle, clouds, weather, barometric pressure, thunder & lightning, droughts & floods, conservation & climate change, and much more. The art style is unpretentious and appealing (see cover).

This would make a great bedtime read or a reading circle or classroom read for young readers, and the series would be great as a part of a homeschool library. There's a short alphabetical glossary included at the end.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Terrie Case · Rating 5 out of 5]

This informational book is simply fabulous. It lays out fun facts about Weather and the things that affect them it. Weather is “The state of the air at a particular place and time.” What a great explanation.

This book is colorful and laid out it a fun, interesting way. Each page contains a great deal of information about things such tornadoes, thunder and lightning and atmospheric condition. Along with the information provided, the pages contain fun facts and experiments the reader can perform. It concludes with a handy glossary of terms.

The illustrations are cute. The primary colors enhance the excitement of delving into the subject.

I highly recommend this book and the other book. My First Fact File Oceans, to homes and elementary schools alike. I intend to purchase all of them and collect new ones as they are published. This will be a great addition to any library.



I was granted a wish and received an ARC from Quarto Publishing Group – Ivy Kids through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book.

[joyce w. laudon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book that I have read in this non-fiction series. It is every bit as informative as the books I read on the Vikings and Ancient Romans.

This entry will intrigue children who are interested in weather and climate. They will learn the difference between those two terms and will also learn about biomes and more. In each section, the reader my find either a quick fact, a project or both. Learn what causes rain. Understand what clouds are made of. Find out what makes a rainbow. There is all this and more.

I especially enjoyed the illustrations in this book. When the weather is stormy, the pages are dark. They are lighter for better days.

There is a section about climate change and suggestions about things that kids can do to help. While not alarmist, this part of the book is helpful and realistic.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for my honest opinon.

[Jason Muckley · Rating 5 out of 5]

"My First Fact File Weather" by Dr. Jen Green is a great introduction to kids about the weather. Starting with the importance of the sun and the earth's atmosphere to other types of extreme weather like hurricanes and tornadoes, Dr. Jen presents the information in a way understandable to most elementary-age children.

The illustrations by Tom Woolley are unique and draw your eye. Each topic includes an easy experiment for kids to try out to understand the topic using kinetic learning techniques.

Overall, this is a full book with lots of information to engage every future scientist interested in studying the science of weather.

I received this eBook free of charge from Quarto Publishing Group – Ivy Kids via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. I did not receive any fiscal compensation from either company for this review and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.

[MV · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As part of my curriculum, my class study weather including extreme weathers. It is often hard to find engaging books which are accessible to all but also contain a good depth of information. This book easily tick all those boxes.

It is clearly organised, very engaging to look at and has an excellent balance of text to illustrations. The text s broken up and laid out in an easy to follow way. The information does not feel too wordy (which often leads to students becoming disinterested) and the use of 'Quick Facts' boxes makes it easy to find snippets of information.

[Leah Horton · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Earths oceans help to spread heat from the sun around the globe.” This is one of MANY fun facts from the My First Fact File Weather book. I didn’t know this fact, and it seems like such an obvious thing now that I do. This book was fun to read, informative and interactive. I loved the illustrations and the fun activities throughout.

This type of learning appeals to me because it’s interesting and keeps you involved.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an electronic ARC from Quarto Publishing Group through NetGalley.
Terrific non-fiction series for elementary readers. Green challenges readers to learn about and explore weather. Quick facts on each page provide bullets of info that go with the rest of the text. Illustrations and diagrams support the text.

[Kristen V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an informative book! There is a lot of information, but it's presented in a way that isn't overwhelming to youngsters wanting to learn about the weather. The illustrations are wonderfully done as well!

[Stevie · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a great book for grade 3-5, good weather information and facts to take back to school to show off their smarts.

Loved this book, will continue on with the series.