Wind

by Olga Fadeeva, Lena Traer (Translator)

A browsable, appealing introduction to an important weather phenomenon.If your hair has ever blown back on a breezy day, you’ve noticed the wind at work. But what causes the wind? Are there different types of wind? How do we measure and name them? How does the wind shape our ecosystems, plants, and animals? What about how have human beings used the wind in the past and the present? Can you really sail into the wind, and would a tailwind help or hurt your plane’s takeoff? Up, up beyond the clouds, does the wind affect other planets, too? Created with help from a meteorologist, this beautiful book is a fascinating exploration of the wind’s role in world history and earth science. Playful prose and colorful illustrations invite children to bring their questions along as they learn more about this powerful—but sometimes overlooked—natural element.

Genres: Nonfiction, Picture Books, Science, Stem, Childrens

48 pages, Hardcover

Published April 11, 2023

About the author

Olga Fadeeva (Ольга Фадеева) is the author and illustrator of Water: Discovering the Precious Resource All Around Us, Wind: Discovering Air in Motion (Eerdmans), and many other books for children. Wind earned a starred review from Kirkus and was named a USSBY Outstanding International Book, and Water earned starred reviews from Booklist and School Library Journal. Olga’s art has been honored in Italy, China, and her home country of Russia.

Reviews

[DaNae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the type of book that makes me wish I had the time and brain capacity to understand every element of the natural world.

[Christie Kaaland · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful nonfiction import from Russian author-illustrator Olga Fadeeva, translated by Lena Traer for Eerdmans Books and aptly subtitled "Discovering Air in Motion". Covering a broad range of subtopics about the important role wind plays in the earth's grand plans, topics are addressed on an global and historic scale and told succinctly in kid-friendly language with details that will intrigue young readers. This well-deserved title has been translated into many languages and covers scientific explanations of wind's power, inventions and uses of sails on ships (even impacting, for example, the outcome of the Mongolian invasion of Japan in the thirteenth century), winds in outer space, and ways humans have harness the wind. The author has a deep sense of understanding of what will appeal to kids such as the use of wind for kites and measuring wind from breeze to hurricane. Her fabulous illustrations offer further detail beyond the just-right text length for providing examples of historic famous weather vanes and sailing ships. A must for every elementary classroom and school library and sure-fire winner for 2024 Batchelder.

[Thomas Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

As Sargeant Schultz said, it's a painting of the wind!

So yes, the author does a better job painting the wind than Colonel Klink. And her explanations are accurate, but kind of boring. I imagine for a kid reading this it would be even more boring.

[Josh Olds · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a book called Wind: Discovering Air in Motion, the illustrations are paramount. Wind is invisible. You don’t see it, but you see what it does. Translating the effect of wind to pictures is the key to success for a book like this and Olga Fadeeva absolutely nails it with broad brush strokes and colorful hues that bring the book to life. This is an educational book. It’s a science book for kids. It gets pretty in-depth. As an adult, I learned things about wind in this book. But it’s the illustrations that give the book it’s uniqueness. Fadeeva’s illustrations for Wind were actually shortlisted for art exhibitions in Italy and China and they won the Image of the Book award at Moscow’s International Illustration and Book Design Competition.

The text of the book takes readers through an exploration of wind. Each two-page panel answers a different question: Where does wind come from? What is wind? What are the different types of wind? Are there other types of wind? How do we describe wind speed? What happens in a hurricane? How do sand grains travel? How does the wind help animals and plants? Which way does the wind blow? How does wind help sailing ships travel? How can you sail into the wind? How has the wind affected history? What are ways we harness wind power? How does wind affect birds? Airplanes? Are there winds in outer space? Wind is fairly comprehensive and written for upper elementary to lower high school (ages 10-14).

For a translated book (translated from Russian by Lena Traer), the text of the book comes across as natural and original. I often find that a lot of translated books lose something in the translation. The word flow or word choice can just seem a bit off. I didn’t feel that here. Possibly it’s because greater care was taken in the translation since facts were being translated and not just poetry or fiction. Perhaps it’s the more straightforwardness of fact-based non-fiction that lends itself to cleaner translations. Whatever the case, I don’t think you would know this book wasn’t originally written in English if no translator were credited.

Wind is one of those books probably best suited to school libraries. I think it would have a greater impact and a wider audience if it was written more simply at a lower reading level. But again, the strength of this book is its illustrations, which serve as a beautiful backdrop for learning all kinds of things about wind.

[The Silvan Reverie | Sarah Street · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a highly detailed informative book for children all about wind. We learn about the science behind it as well as all the implications for humans and the natural world. There is a lot to learn and it's all presented in a fascinating way with engaging illustrations.

I do wish the book would come with a Table of Contents, Index and Glossary -- I think these kind of things are helpful for children who likely are not going to read this entire book in one sitting.

***Note: I was given a review copy of this book via Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. Opinions are my own.

[Erin Buhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found WIND to be completely fascinating. It is a thorough introduction to wind; how it is formed, how it affects different parts of our world, how it's measured and more. The text is engaging and often playful. The illustrations are full of charm and movement. I see this book being poured over by a curious child or shared with a classroom for any number of units - I know we'll be using it when we learn about the Age of Exploration.

[Susan Dunn]

"Created with help from a meteorologist, this beautiful book is a fascinating exploration of the wind's role in world history and earth science. Playful prose and colorful illustrations invite children to bring their questions along as they learn more about this powerful-but sometimes overlooked-natural element."

[Mrs.MakesReadingFun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fabulous book, all about science! I just can't decide if its an amazing picture book read-aloud, or a informative and interesting science text? Oh well- its BOTH!

Our students love the illustrations, and all the interesting facts throughout.

A great resource for classrooms, school libraries, and for kids interested in science/weather!

[Emma House · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very complex and in depth, however it is super informational. It goes through what wind is, how/where it's created, what kinds of wind there is, as well as the benefits, and so much more. Each page is full of information, I personally found it to be a lot and overwhelming, especially for a children's book. The illustrations were super cool though.

[Angela De Groot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated and informative non-fiction picture book about how the wind shapes ecosystems and changes our world. Historical background on how we used the wind in the past and how we can use it now and in the future as a source of renewable energy. Fascinating book.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to the basics of wind science, including a bit about solar winds. This doesn't make a good group read aloud, but would be a great resource for a kid in elementary school doing a report of wind or weather.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book I picked up to see if it’ll be useful for homeschool science, and it looks like a winner. The information is presented in an engaging way, and the illustrations are lovely.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading for the illustrations alone. Fadeeva explains wind at a level for middle grade readers. This serves as an introductory text for those wanting to learn about weather pieces.

[Shane]

Wonderful details

[Alex]

It was ok. It had a lot of text and I thought it would be longer.

[Alicia Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book that was informative and interesting. The illustrations are stunning and I enjoyed looking at every page.

[Shay · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s fun to have artistically illustrated nonfiction! Cecilia just wasn’t quite old enough for all those words.

[Briar]

upper elementary level, lots of information that is not in a narrative