Wild Weather Soup

by Caroline Formby

Winifred Weathervane makes just the right weather for everywhere in the world, but when she goes on vacation without turning off the gas, it damages the ozone layer and soon the weather is all mixed up

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1995

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

High up in the clouds, Winifred Weathervane cooked up all of the weather needed around the world, from rain for the rainforests to snow for the arctic. But when this weather-maker decided to take a vacation in Australia, she forgot to do one important thing: turn off the gas under her pressure cooker. With wild weather all over the world, and a hole blown through the ozone layer, she needed to act quickly to set all to rights...

Published in 1995, Wild Weather Soup is a book I tracked down after seeing it on a list of witchy picture-books—a personal pet project of mine. As it turns out, the word "witch" is never used in the text, which is really more about the weather in different parts of the world, and an allegory about climate change (and climate disasters) disguised as a magical tale. Winifred forgets to turn the heat down on her cooker (a reference to global warming?), and the result is a string of catastrophes, including a hole in the ozone. While the latter is a little dated (this was published in the mid 1990s, after all), it's clear that there is an underlying message here, for those who wish to see it. For my part, I found the book enjoyable, despite its obvious didactic purpose, and think it would work equally well as a fun fairy-tale or a very gentle introduction to the topic of global weather and climate change. The artwork is colorful and engaging, and certainly plays on the magical "witch" theme, in those scenes in which Winifred is working with her cauldron (AKA, pressure cooker). Recommended to those looking for fairy-tales about the weather and/or picture-books that address changes in weather and climate from a more fictional perspective.

[Sanbornton Central School · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read to second graders.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was super cute. All about a weather witch who decides to take a vacation and the world’s weather gets turned upside all because she left her weather cauldron on.

[Ashley Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute story about an old lady that forgets to turn the gas off while coooking up the weather, and things get really crazy. I would use this book during a science unit on the ozone layer and the effects that gas has on it for grades 2-3. We could also talk about other weather pattterns and things in our environemnt that cuase those things to happen. Example: thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes. What cause these things to take place.

[Abi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was about an old lady named Winifred Weathervane who is responsible for cooking up the world's weather, but if she forgets to turn off the gas the weather all over gets crazy. We learn about the ozone layer and different weather patterns from this cute story. This would be age appropriate for Kindergarten or First Grade students.

[Lori Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is a fun way to introduce the effects of gas on the ozone layer as well as different weather patterns. Students could discuss the effects of different gases and pollutants on the environment. To connect with real-life situations, the teacher could discuss hurricanes Katrina and Sandy and their causes.

[Vanessa Peavy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is such a cute book to read to children. Who doesn't love a good bowl of soup? Winifred Weathervane has it under control. This book is great to use when teaching weather. It has great vocabulary words and is great for identifying different types of weather and characteristics.


Grade:1

[D Nine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plenty of "w" words to read with emphasis.