Weather

by Rebecca Rupp, Melissa Sweet (Illustrator), Dug Nap (Illustrator)

Do you know what would happen if the Earth's atmosphere suddenly disappeared? Deprived of oxygen and bombarded by ultraviolet radiation, our bodies would swell, our blood would boil, and our eardrums would explode. Is there a kid on the planet who wouldn't think that information was just too cool for words?

As a homeschooling mom (with a Ph.D. in microbiology), author Rebecca Rupp learned first-hand that kids respond best to scientific information when it is presented in a way that is fun, lively, and off-beat. To keep the attention of her three young sons, she combined impeccable science with strange-but-true examples and exciting experiments and projects designed to reinforce important concepts. A product of Rupp's many years as a student and a teacher, WEATHER is a breakthrough book for exciting kids about science.

Rupp's approach is as much fun for grownups as it is for kids. Who doesn't want to know whether the flapping of a butterfly's wings can eventually set off a tornado? Or why snow that fell white turned pink on the ground? Or that the Hindenberg exploded after lightning ignited the flammable paint on the zeppelin's outer cover?

Bursting with the kinds of ideas, facts, statistics, and explanations that kids find irresistible (and that are guaranteed to make them smarter than their parents!), WEATHER is the ultimate book for every budding meteorologist.

Sample Experiments and Projects from Weather: Start a Tornado in a Bottle, Make Your Own Compass, Set Off Lightning on a Plate, Make Your Own Hygrometer (to measure humidity in the atmosphere), Become a Real Rainmaker, Whip Up a Batch of Atmosphere in a Pan and more.

Genres: Science, Childrens, Nonfiction, Nature

144 pages, Paperback

First published July 3, 2003

About the author

Rebecca Rupp is the author of SARAH SIMPSON'S RULES FOR LIVING, JOURNEY TO THE BLUE MOON, THE DRAGON OF LONELY ISLAND and THE RETURN OF THE DRAGON. She lives in Swanton, Vermont.

Reviews

[Sarah Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a great book about all things weather. Perfect for middle school age kids with engaging text, great photos and whimsical illustrations by Melissa Sweet. But, truthfully, I really appreciated this book, too, because the science was so accessible and fun to read.

[Sarah Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. Personal reaction – This book is fabulous for hands-on learning! It is approximately 120 pages of explaining how weather works through experiments and fun explanations that not only make sense to kids, but kids will see the relevance of the information to their everyday lives.

2. Purpose(s)/Use in the classroom
• read aloud to make a curricular connection: I would absolutely utilize this book when doing a science unit on weather. It has great ideas for fun and easy experiments for students as well as anecdotes that explain why a certain phenomenon occurs. The learning is guided versus explicit.

• independent reading (a particular age group or child with a particular need or interest) – I would split students into groups to read and perform their own experiment. They could then share their findings with the class in a visual way.

• For nonfiction: Pictures with captions, a list of terms, and separate chapters are a few elements to this book that make it easy to comprehend.

3. Other: This book is great for students in grades 3-4. They would most likely have to be guided through each experiment, but would be able to realize the significance on their own or grasp it from reading the book.

[Cindy]

This book is ideal for when teaching about harsh weather conditions. This book provides real life photography. This book provides strong scientific vocabulary as well.

[Jennifer]

We used this as a spine for our weather study unit. Kids definitely enjoyed it.

[Manna_Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another one we pulled off the shelf to re-read to supplement a GenSci weather unit. You're never too old for fun illustrations, photos, experiments, and explanations.