Weather Books

I am a community college professor who uses this text. The course is designed for non-science majors who need a lab science elective to satisfy their liberal arts degree. The climate course that I teach is a paleoclimatology course which is primarily about the forces that have caused climate and climate change over the past 300 million years. My course differs from the more traditional method of teaching climate (typically an "atmospheric science" course for the first half of the course followed by some climate change materials in the second half.)

The Ruddiman book is outstanding and I will highlight the pros and cons below but the pros greatly outweigh the cons:

Pros:
1) Extremely well-written
2) Ruddiman uses the scientific method to build his topics. He begins with a hypothesis, explores the data, and then discusses if the hypothesis is valid or not. I love this style because it shows students how scientists approach problems and possible solutions.
3) Superb illustrations

Cons:
1) Really a two-semester text. There is no way that students can do more than 10-12 chapters per semester.
2) Although appropriate for college-level, this text will read at a higher level than other books typically used in non-majors courses.

Bottom line: this is simply the best climate book I have reviewed to date for community college non-major students and I have reviewed many over the last 20 years.

This textbook was assigned for a mid-level course on climatic environments of the past, with a focus on the Quaternary Period. As a graduate student with an ecology undergraduate degree currently studying Quaternary vegetation dynamics, I found this to be an excellent introduction for those without a background in climatology while still having a lot to offer more advanced students.

The book itself does not focus merely on the Quaternary, but on the general climatic history of the earth and the dynamic processes that govern it. Ruddiman gives a full treatment of the various scales of variability (tectonic-scale, orbital-scale, millenial, and finally historical and future). He includes a thorough treatment of various paleoclimate proxy methods, the processes of internal and external climate forcing, and gives a geological context for the current trends in climate change.

One of the most valuable aspects of this textbook are the excellent illustrations, which are concise and consistent throughout. These graphics make a variety of potentially confusing or complex processes seem much simpler and more approachable, and are superior to other treatments of the same topics I've seen in other textbooks. Each chapter has suggestions for additional readings, key terms, and review questions, making this an excellent resource for students.

The work is comparatively up-to-date, and includes current issues and debates in paleoclimate studies as well as references to various contemporary projects, groups, and researchers. The writing style is succinct and clear, and follows an intuitive progression. More advanced students will find it easy to find the information they need without slogging through elementary readings. All in all this is an excellent reference for anyone interested in studying climate dynamics in order to understand current trends. Beginning or advanced students, professionals looking to expand their range of knowledge, and the serious inquirer with an advanced high school background in physical science will all find something valuable in this text. My only wish is that the book, now five years old, be updated to include the most recent advanvements in the field.

I read this book twice, and wished I had had something like this available to me a few years ago, when I started venturing out into the unnumbered feedback loops, geochemical vagaries and regional idiosyncracies of Quaternary paleoclimatology, trying to form a general picture of it all. But this text isn't just about the Quaternary, mind you, this is a complete introduction to the main issues in Earth's climatology.
That it's mainly PALEOclimatology is unavoidable, since in my opinion "present climatology" is like a nonsense... Climate is an averaged evaluation of regional or global meteorological parameters through time, and the "present" is always too short for such an evaluation. Insight on climate evolution is only gained looking back in time, and projecting our analyses to an immediate future, so it's a science strictly dependent on timescales and perspectives... What we can tentatively tell about our climatic future is still too uncertain, but what was in the past is still available to inform and inspire us to further research, that's why Ruddiman's work is mainly about understanding what happened in the past...
My cheap philosophy aside, I think the author's aim was to introduce the subject from the basics, at a simplified level, in order to teach what kind of processes and interactions are involved in determining Earth's climate and its variability, without having inexperienced readers bogged down into technicalities of all sorts and all together (the necessary way of scientific articles delving deeper into any one very specific topic!). Hypotheses, problems and events are introduced gradually, with a captivating detective-like style, and the telescopic time-perspective (from longer geotectonic time-scales all the way down to centennial and decadal patterns and phenomena, dutifully lingering upon the Milankovic pacemaker) is just what's needed to have the right feeling brought home to students of how the Earth system evolves..
Details of this and that research threads are omitted to aid understanding of the general picture. Bibliographic references provide other information sources for those interested in more..
My own perplexity is on the second chapter: I doubt that such a quick overview of the workings of atmosphere and oceans is enough for those students that never touched any textbooks of meteorology or oceanography. A chapter twice as long would be more informative, I guess making those processes clearer at the outset of the journey would make several students more confident and help them grasp more of what will follow. I know the book is bulky enough already, but more pages and explanations need to be added to the second chapter for teaching's sake...
I have to disagree with the previous reviewer's negativity.. This is an introductory textbook, if any (paleo)climatologist's views had to be included, an encyclopedia would hardly be enough room for all of them!! The last two chapters, on global warming and future climate variability, are the best example of Ruddiman's balance and caution in explaining hypotheses, alternatives, possible fallacies and biases of sorts. As to the reviewer's question, "Who couldn't get a five-star rating discussing climate change and global warming with such a leitmotif?", I invite him to read my review of W.J.Burroughs' "Climate Change: a Multidisciplinary Approach" on the Amazon.co.uk website...
I really hope to see a second edition of Ruddiman's work in the next years, when times will be ripe for exciting updates and more hypotheses to tell...

Here is a very flashy book. Superb illustrations. Nice layout. Important subject.

Who couldn't get a five-star rating discussing climate change and global warming with such a leitmotif? Apparently this author.

When you read through the lines, you find the same old cant. Look, everyone knows that climate changes; however, Ruddiman seems to think he knows WHY more than anyone else. But he does not. By neglect, he dismisses arguments of other climatologists that are equally (if not better) informed. I wish he could explain better why our climate is so variable, without resorting to computer models that everyone knows don't work very well. But alas he did not discuss this in adequate detail.

All of this means that the core of this book, while a noble attempt, is flashy and hollow. I hoped for better on this important topic, and (sigh) I still await the real, objective textbook on this fascinating subject.

All this is too bad, because Mr. Ruddiman is a very "highly rated" scientist. Maybe someone of lesser status will surprise us with a real book about the true complexities of climate change. Maybe someone who isn't a climatologist can explain all this stuff.

I don't know who that might be, but I expected more guts and less fluff from this book.

In this book, Chris Spence was able to present global warming as a real and compelling issue and to entice the reader to investigate deeper into the complexities of this subject. This is more than any technical essay on global warming could have achieved in terms of drawing the attention to such an important subject, often disregarded because too "technical".

Good book that gets to the heart of the issues surrounding global warming, and does so without pummeling the reader with environmental jargon.

I ordered this book 3 months ago on Amazon. The book didn't turn up so unfortunately I couldn't make a proper review. I wasn't too impressed with Amazon - after numerous emails unananswered the book finally turned up 3 months and 20 days since the date of ordering. What can i say? ... It was definitely worth the wait. A very readable account of a highly complex topic demonstrating just how important it is that we all take action! I especially liked the advice on pp143 ...

This book brings the issue of Global Warming to the masses. Chris Spence does an excellent job making this topic understandable and interesting while still impressing upon the reader the magnitude of this problem. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is trying to decipher the simple truth about Global Warming and what we can do, on a personal level, to help alleviate this problem.

Although my daughter always enjoyed books (and had many, many classic children's books around her since birth), due to dyslexia, she tended to struggle with reading in school---and from frustration, began turning away from reading altogether (either a book was at her level, but painfully boring, or interesting subject matter, but too difficult for her to decipher).

These books changed ALL of that! Because she found them so completely enthralling, she was quite willing to invest the extra time and energy into really reading and deciphering them. By slowing down, she developed her own coping mechanisms for her disability.

One day, she brought one of the books to school and after showing it to her reading teacher, read a new chapter for her. Even her reading teacher (a woman with considerable tenure) was STUNNED by how well my daughter read. The result of these books is that my daughter (just 5 months after discovering this series) now reads at grade level---and can't get enough of them.

I'll admit (like any book series) these are hardly great literature, but they've completely changed my reluctant reader---and she's now moving on to more challenging, classic fare.

It had been a struggle to get my first grader interested in reading for pleasure rather than because she was required to, until we discovered Daisy Meadows... now she constantly has her nose in one of the Weather Fairies books! We can't wait for more to be published!

These Weather Fairy books by Daisy Meadows (hey... I wouldn't put my real name on them either) are wholly unremarkable. I suppose they're harmless enough for K-3 grade kids, but there's nothing to distinguish them. The writing is tediously simplistic, the stories are unimaginative, and the illustrations uninspiring. I read a couple to my kids and they never asked for them again... and they ask for everything again.

This may seem harsh criticism for books so obviously targeted at young girls, but compare these to some of the exception children's literature out there (H. A. Rey, Beatrix Potter, Maurice Sendak, Ludwig Bemelmans, Dr. Seuss, Kay Thompson, Arnold Lobel, etc., etc., etc) and their mediocrity becomes quite clear. Something intended to encourage kids to read doesn't have to aim so low. I'd argue for the advantages of the opposite approach.

- mm

My daughter loves this series of books - the biggest problem we have is that she won't stop after one chapter. She's 5, so we're reading them to her now, but soon she'll be re-reading them herself. We started with book 1 of the Rainbow Fairies and are now on the Weather Fairies Series. I highly recommend them!

This is a great book! Larger than I thought it would be.
My grandson is fascinated by the weather, he is always giving
me the weather report. He is 4 years old and loves this book. We read it over and over again. Plus the interaction of this book is fun for any child.

What a great book! This is my 20 month old son's favorite book. He is really into weather, so it is perfect. I agree that unless you have a child that is gentle with books, then it is a "read together" book because he could easily rip off some of the moveable parts. But don't let that stop you - it's a fun, bright and colorful book for boys or girls. The front cover has a moving dial and you can change the weather that shows in the circle to a sunshine, rain cloud, rainbow, wind (shown by blowing leaves), snow or lighting. Each page in the book is dedicated to a different type of weather.
Pg 1: At the start of the story, Maisy opens the curtains in her bedroom (with your help) to reveal a bright sunny day with puffy white clouds and a bird singing.
Pg 2: Sunny day. Maisy changes from her regular clothes to a cute swimsuit by pulling the flap.
Pg 3: Snowy day. Maisy is feeding the birds outside and if you pull the flap the clouds let out a tumble of snow.
Pg 4: Rainy day. Help Maisy jump in the puddles with her flowered umbrella and yellow rainboots.
Pg 5: Windy day. Turn the dial and watch the wind blow leaves, Maisy's hat and kite.
Pg 6: Stormy day. Maisy is sitting on the couch with her panda and kitty, looking out the window at the rain. Pull the flap and "boom!" - the lighting crashes down. Sound effect is provided by the reader of the story, of course.
Pg 7: Rainbow day. Maisy is dancing in the rain, and if you rotate this flap a beautiful rainbow and sunshine pop out. This is the most colorful page in the book. The colors are listed on the left side of the page so you can help your child learn the colors too.

Maisy takes children on a wonderfully illustrated adventure of different types of weather. Being excited by sunny skies, rain, snow and finally a rainbow, Maisy goes through a wonderful array of pop-ups. I love this book just as much as my daughter does.

The cover illustration says "Lift the flap fun." My 2-year-old LOVES Maisy AND flap books, so I bought this. But it really has pull-tabs, which were immediately ripped apart because he doesn't understand how they work yet. The recommended age for the book is 4-8, and I'd say that's about right. Your child needs an understanding of pull-tabs or this book isn't much fun. Otherwise, the illustrations and tabs are delightful.

I truly hate I just read this novel. I wish I had purchased it when it was first released. This novel is GREAT......A new school horror/suspense writer. The reason I don't go to the theater is because there are NO horror/suspense movies that can capture my deepest attention. WHY isn't "Miss Mary Weather" a movie by now? Five thumbs up to the author. Can't wait until your next novel. KEEP UP THE WRITING...

Horror fan forever

The author of Miss mary Weather did not drop the ball. He took horror and ran with it. Scary books are my life. I must say that this is the best I have read in a year. Keep writing Mr. Sanders. If the world is not ready for an African-American horror novelist. I am.

What I liked most about this book is that it takes you right to the point from the very beginning. It's scary, with horrific southern diorama. So, if you don't read carefully you will definitely miss out. This book mysteriously changes like the weather just like "MISS MARY WEATHER" !!!!

This books began with all the bang and whistles of a great story. In fact, the story in its self is not to shabby, but every chapter following the first became increasingly predictable and when I gladly got to the end of the book the story had turned into the most cliched work of fiction I'd ever encountered. Someone please inform this storyteller about "Spell Check," and all the other grammer tools available theses days. The 2nd and 3rd act dropped the ball completely. The reader is able to pick out the exact movie where every inspiration for acts 2 & 3 was borrowed. And badly borrowed at that! For all of us trying to find an Ethnic Storyteller to embrace; this storyteller is not "The One!"

I strongly suggest you look elsewhere.
For example..."LaErtes, The King of Horra/Thrilla!"

The Mote in Andrea's Eye tells the story of a young girl named Andrea who lives through a terrible storm that leaves her scarred for life. Growing up she dedicates her life to learning everything she can about the weather and hurricanes, her goal is to figure out a way to stop hurricanes completely before they ever make landfall. While working in a government sponsored facility she meets the love of her life Phil Wicks, a pilot whose job it is to fly out and drop silver iodide into the storms. After they're shut down Andrea and Phil set up a storm fighting facility of their own. Everything is going well until the day Phil flies out into a storm and never returns, the kicker is when Phil disappears he takes the storm with him.

This book was born after author David Niall Wilson's wife turned to him and asked the question, "I wonder why no hurricane has ever disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle?" Which IMO is a contender for Best Question Ever.

TMiAE has a TWISTER feel with a little bit of FOREVER YOUNG with the whole thing liberally covered in TWILIGHT ZONE. However, it borrows but never steals. The story stands very firmly on its own two feet and kept me glued to the pages except for when it got too emotional for me and I had to put it down. If you've ever stayed in your house while a hurricane came through your heart will be in your throat for the entire first part of the novel. After you finish the first part you'll feel almost as emotionally drained as though you went through the storm with Andrea and her family.

The writing is very clear; there isn't a lot of extra stuff going on. At times I wanted more back story for the characters just so I could get to know them better but ultimately the more I read the better I liked the clean concise style. The only complaint I had was with the synopsis on the inside cover. It pretty much laid out the whole book so if you want to be unspoiled I wouldn't recommend reading it.

Many genres are covered here including science fiction, fantasy, romance and thriller; there's truly something for everyone. This would make an incredible movie.

It was watching her father die during a hurricane when she was just a child that motivated Andrea Jamieson to become a scientist studying storms. Currently she heads Operation Stormfury studying how to prevent or lessen the impact of oceanic fed storms on land. She works with her lover flier Phil Wicks, a former US Navy pilot. His prime mission is to drop silver iodide on hurricanes.

They are currently tracking a horrific storm over the Devil's Triangle heading towards North Carolina Phil flies towards the torrent, but when he makes his approach to drop the silver iodide, he vanishes along with the storm. Stunned Andrea tries to track what happened to her beloved who simply vanished somewhere apparently into nowhere along with the lost storm at sea or elsewhere.

THE MOTE IN ANDREA'S EYE is a terrific fantasy romantic mystery that grips the readers starting with the action of the storm and never slows down as the audience switches from adrenalin pumping to pondering what is going on with David Niall Wilson's superb thriller. Andrea and Phil is a fine couple, who as partners and as individuals make the plot seem real. Mr. Wilson writes a fantastic thriller that fans of nature out of control tales will want to read and hope Hollywood will film it.

Harriet Klausner

I've admired Dave Wilson's fiction, both short and long, for many years, and THE MOTE IN ANDREA'S EYE is another of this prolific author's works well-worth seeking out, even if horror/dark fantasy isn't your cup of tea. While MOTE may be rooted in fantasy, the better part of story is pure action/adventure with a touch of science fiction for accent.

In her youth, protagonist Andrea Jamieson loses her father to a hurricane -- an event that sets the course for the rest of her life. As an adult, she becomes a scientist engaged not just in the study of hurricanes but in a quest to halt them altogether. Aided by her husband, Phil Wicks, and a crew devoted to seeing her dream fulfilled, Andrea concocts a plan that evidence indicates may succeed in actually stopping a force five hurricane.

What no one has counted on is the fact that the storm has originated in the Bermuda Triangle.

Wilson's prose here is less textured than in most of his works; it's so plain, so workmanlike, that at first, I wasn't sure it was going to hold me. In fact, with so little dimension, the characters initially held almost no interest for me, and it was only the leaked promises of fantastic events to follow that kept me engaged. However, once the book kicked into higher gear, some hundred pages in, the characters at last came to life and I found myself in their corner as events become increasingly dire.

Wilson uses science as a sturdy backdrop for the story. At no time are the technical details overwhelming. In fact, as the novel progresses, the little details themselves serve to augment the rising tension. By the climax, not only was I convinced I had ridden out one helluva storm, I had the feeling that I knew quite a bit more about certain meteorological events than I did the day before I started reading.

I don't believe MOTE is as powerful as some of Wilson's darker, more philosophical works, such as THIS IS MY BLOOD, but once it finds its stride, it's a fast-paced, highly enjoyable adventure that's not just for aficionados of the dark.

If you are a fan of weather thrillers, this book is for you. Andrea Jamieson loses her father at an early age in a horrible hurricane on the NC coast. She grows into an expert on fighting hurricanes, only to lose her husband -- and her storm -- in the Bermuda Triangle! Fast paced and would make a darned good movie.

This is the second series of "Rainbow Magic" fairy books written by Daisy Meadows, picking up where the seven-part Rainbow Fairies series left off. These books are innocent and engaging, focusing on two young girls, Kirsty and Rachel, who meet while on vacation with their parents, and are drawn into the magical world of the fairies, who are in conflict with the mischievous Jack Frost. The structure of this series is nearly identical to the first: the girls are given a quest in which they must help seven fairies (each with sparkles aplenty and cute, super-girly outfits and princess-y names such as Hayley, Heather, Iris, Amber and Iris... ) who have been bothered by Jack and his goblin helpers. In each book they complete one part of the quest and meet one new fairy.

It is important to know going in that these books are interconnected -- each individual volume ties in with the others, so you will want to start with book #1, then go on to #2, etc. The plots are not very complicated, but they do make reference to each other, and the idea is to read them all together.

The other thing to know is that these books are not very scary or troubling - there is action, but no violence and not much real danger (the goblins are easily beaten, and not very frightening) so if you are looking for longer narratives for young kids to read, but don't want anything disturbing, this series is good option. One criticism is that the books are pretty WASP-y, and while a couple of the fairies might be seen as Asian, basically the entire series takes place in an all-white, middle-class world, populated with thin, blonde girls and a few brunettes. Other than that, though, this is a good series for families looking for light, engaging, age-appropriate stories. (ReadThatAgain children's book reviews)

My daughter never really wanted to read on her own much at all. She read this book from cover-to-cover in a short time. She cannot wait to read the rest of them, and is so proud of herself! This is a great series for girls who are early readers!

We've been struggling for a way to get my daughter to read now that she's run out of Junie B. Jones books. The Weather Fairies books have done the trick. She seems to enjoy reading again for the first time in half a year or more.

I have to say I haven't read any of the Weather Fairies myself but I caught my twelve-year-old son reading the series because his sister had obviously liked it. He said he wanted to read more, too.

great imaginative series with descriptive words that my little girl loved. it can get a bit repetitive as they repeat the main premise in each book of the group in case someone hasnt read the last one...
all in all, she couldnt wait for the next fairy book to come out!

hits all the right buttons.

"Rain," written and illustrated by Manya Stojic, is a very simply written but bold story about how animals could react to the rain in the parched African savanna. Using the five senses of smell, sight, sound, touch and taste, African animals give different commentaries about the coming rains. The bright, bold illustrations are of great value to the book; they make it fun and enjoyable. Using large fonts and bold letters along with the pictures, one can almost feel the heat of the desert rise from the pages as well as the coolness of the rains.

The rain cycle could be taught along with this book, showing the benefits of the rain. Life depends on the rains - the grasses grow and fruits develop and mature. Life is sustained again by the blessings of the rain.

The book is great for helping young readers build their vocabulary. Sentences such as "A porcupine sniffed around" contain verbs that are easy to act out for children - the children can "sniff" as the porcupine talks about it. Besides the use of basic verbs, it also contains a good variety of descriptive adjectives (ie. cool, soft, squelchy mud). For teaching opposites, such as dry, wet, empty, full, "Rain" can be useful. I see great potential for this book in my bilingual class.

Manya Stojic has done a great job on this, her first children's book.

Stojic's book is very good for emergent readers. It expands children's knowledge and takes them to a far away place. The print is vivid, it helps emergent readers feel like real readers because the text is repetitious and it contributes to children's sense of story because it ends the way it begins. In all, it's a great book for preschoolers and kindergarten children!

Stojic suceeds at her first children'book! Educators/parents can use this book for lessons in African animals, the five senses, and how the Earth needs rain for vegetation and the food we eat. The illustrations are bold and give the feel of the dry African landscape. After the rain comes the illustrations are lush and feel like what we know as spring. Early readers can identify words in the large text. A must have for Early Childhood Educators!!

This new release would be a great addition to your child's library. It tells the story of how the wild animals sense that the rain is coming, and then how they celebrate the results of the life-giving rainstorm. The illustrations are done in bright, primary colors that are very eye-catching. I think this is a great book for those long, hot summer days.

These Equiox and the Solstice books are cute and fun to read, at the end of the book are crafts and ideas to do with your children for the Equinox. I also like all the history it has in it, I learned quite a bit myself!! :)

My son has family members that celebrate both Christian and Pagan holidays. I found this book and others are a great way to put all of our traditions in a historical and equal light. We've been reading it since he was four but I recommend it for 1st graders and older doing a few pages a night.

Another reviewer said this book has crafts or ideas at the end. NOPE!!! It is a set of 1 page stories about how different cultures in the past waited for the suns return. I liked the short tale at the end and the page that explains the science of what makes the seasons change.
Overall, I found this book too boring to hold the attention of my kids. I expected some fun ideas for the season and the book didn't include any.

Some of the facts were fun and the author nicely tied them to modern day.
"Romans gave presents to their friends and relatives, like we do now at Christmas." The pictures were also nice and bright.
This book is completely non-denominational, which is a nice change but not what I expected from the title and description. Sadly, I was kind of hoping that this book would be a good introduction to Yule for kids. It is not!
The part about sacrificing llamas made my kids angry. I don't really like that they now have to bring that one point up every time we mention Yule.
While this book isn't a total waste, it is not at all what I had hoped for. I look forward to seeing good books that will actually explain the old holidays to kids. This book just doesn't do it.

great way to explain pagan rites to Children. We will use this in our children's circle. Also briefly mentions Christianity in relation to pagan symbols