A Journey Through the Weather by John Haslam and Steve Parker
We're British. We LOVE to talk about the weather. But beyond the usual platitudes of Bit cold out isn't it or What a beautiful day, how much do you actually know about what's happening up in the sky? I can describe the weather in half a dozen languages – it's a staple of any language course – but it's purely superficial: it's sunny, it's cold, yesterday it was windy, good grief tomorrow it's going to snow.
| A Journey Through the Weather by John Haslam and Steve Parker | |
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| Category: Children's Non-Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Zoe Morris
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| Summary: An interesting and detailed look at the weather, this goes deeper than just basic descriptions, to good effect | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 48 | Date: April 2016 |
| Publisher: QED Publishing | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1784934507 | |
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This book, as you can probably tell from my lead-in, goes further than that. It is an in-depth look at weather patterns and seasons, and it was surprisingly interesting. This isn't a storybook about the weather. There's no plot, no characters experiencing the changing temperatures for example. Instead, it's a factual look at how things work, and it goes into a fair bit of detail. For example, we learn the names for different types of clouds like Cirrus and Altocumulus. We learn how hailstones are formed, and what has to come together for a hurricane to hit. There's a section on droughts and one on floods (though sadly without a picture of a famous French art gallery being evacuated).
There's quite a lot of text on the pages as it's an educational and informative book, probably best appreciated by the junior school age group once reading fluency has improved and scientific concepts are starting to take hold. It would be a good one for wider reading as part of a school project as there's tons of detail.
Because this is a children's book, it needs pictures to take it from dreary to accessible reference, and these are in abundance with lots of international scenes showing everything from the Equator to the Arctic. There's nice detail too – snowboarders, as well as skiers, descend the mountains when we're talking about snowfall.
The book jacket unfolds into a poster. It's the sort of thing you might find on a classroom wall and is a bit superfluous for a book to have at home, but it's a harmless if slightly oddly thought out addition.
This book would be a good addition to any family's non-fiction stash. It's incredibly informative but it's fun to read too – the sort you could pick up at any time, not just when a weather-themed report is due. Parents and children alike will learn from this one. I'd like to thank the publishers for sending us a copy to review.
For more on this topic, check out 50 Things You Should Know About: Wild Weather by Anna Claybourne. Adults might appreciate Weatherland: Writers and artists under English skies by Alexandra Harris.
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You can read more book reviews or buy A Journey Through the Weather by John Haslam and Steve Parker at Amazon.com.
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