Weather Books

This book is a super fun way for children to learn about weather and what to wear during different types of weather.

Once again author Andrea Weathers and illustrator Bob Thames have teamed up to produce another engaging and beautifully illustrated story about a little hermit crab. In this prequel to their first book, Hermy the Hermit Crab Goes Shopping, we find Hermy in the waters off Folly Beach, SC at the time of his "birth". He once again travels to real-life Charleston SC Lowcountry destinations as he grows larger with each site he visits. By the end of the book Hermy finds himself where he started out in the first book. Ms. Weathers captures the essence of coastal living through the eyes of Hermy in a way that is educational and entertaining. Mr. Thames artwork is phenomenal with its colorful images and attention to detail. The innovative format also includes a map of Hermy's journey, and an informative "Hermy's Glossary". I have given the book to children of all ages. It makes a great lap book for children who are not reading yet, but who will be enchanted by the colorful and detailed pictures and fast moving storyline. Older school children will also enjoy the book for its educational value. I highly recommend the book and I can’t wait to see what Hermy will be up to in the next book!!

In The History Of Weather, James Williams provides a fascinating meteorological history that will prove informative for science students and the non-specialist general reading public. Williams begins by describing earth's origin, subsequent cooling and gradual modification into a beautiful, essential, benevolent plant with water and an atmosphere hospitable to life. He goes on to discuss the interacting dynamics of Earth's four physical spheres (atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere) and how they evolved in concert and remain balanced. He then chronicles the ice ages and the ascent of homo sapiens. From there we are treated to chapters on the pre-dawn of civilization, the Greek experience, the age of technology, latent heat and storms, modern meteorology's history and theory, 20th century discoveries, and the "new meteorology" based forecasting. The History Of Weather concludes with chapters on the history of the climate, the ice ages, the sun, air, and "Meteorosensivity and Other Folk Lore". Exceptionally well written and presented, with an exentsive section of references and an index, The History Of Weather is a very highly recommended, "reader friendly" addition to school and community library weather science and meteorological studies collections.

This book gives a wonderful look at what life is like and used to be on Harker's Island, a fishing community that is now being populated by weekend tourists and the well off retired. Before life became so hectic and full of modern conveniences, the people of the island were fishermen and boat builders, working very hard by the sweat of their brows just to make enough money to feed their families. Through hard work and endurance, they did just that. This book not only tells a little about yesterday but it tells of the few remaining fishermen and boat builders on Harkers Island. Fascinating is the life of Eddie Willis and his family. Edwin Martin's wonderful photographs capture the way of life of these people like no one else could. Mr. Prioli does an excellent job telling the stories of these hard working people. I strongly recommend this book not only because of the fishing community, but it will give the reader a greater appreciation for what he has.

This book caught my eye as I was looking for a book for a young niece.
The story is simple, yet captivating and brought back memories of that common question posed by young children,"How do you know?"

Great book for young children who wonder about fog and the mysteries of nature....fun to read aloud.

We use this book for the Ocean Sailing Class that we teach (soundsailingcenter.com). The book is straighforward, authoritative, and to the point. Covers a lot of material. Very good value. Some of the descriptions about the difficulty in dealing with heavy weather are so direct in a German sort of a way, that they are funny (I was reading the book initially while sailing upwind in 40-50 knots in our J44. The pounding was intense. The author writes something to the effect that 'in heavy weather, when sailing upwind in a modern, well built boat, it will seem that the boat will break apart from the pounding, but it will not'. We had a good laugh about that section, since it was exactly what we were thinking.

I'll admit I don't read a lot of short stories--I'm a more of a novel kind of guy. But I was totally won over and completely captivated by Rane Arroyo's first collection of fiction. His short stories are about gay and bisexual Latino men and their lovers, ex-lovers, future lovers and the families they all come from. Some of his written words made me laugh out loud; others made me incredibly sad. And being from the Windy City myself, I loved his references to various Chicago places like the bar, Little Jim's, and the vegetarian restaurant, The Chicago Diner--both of which are still in business on Halsted Street. But what I found most intriguing about Mr. Arroyo's stories was his experimentation with different writing styles. "The Blackie Soto Mystery Series" is a hilarious descriptive list of a series of mysteries about Blackie and his two friends who have wild adventures while solving crimes--kind of a gay Latino Hardy Boys. And "Rat Poison: The Book of Marcus Mar" tells the tale--in 101 sentences--of a young man committing suicide--I found it disturbing, sad and beautifully written. Other stories are told as monologues, in verse, and even as cyberspace emails. "How to Name a Hurricane" is a quick, wonderful read that you will have a difficult time putting down once you begin. I highly recommend that you check it out.

How's The Weather?: Find Your Outdoors Comfort Paradise In The U.S. is a handy, practical, guide to selecting the right locale for a picnic, a weekend outing, two week's vacation, or any other recreational getaway so as not to have outdoor entertainment spoiled by a run of bad weather. Historical U.S. climate data is compiled and distilled in a format accessible to the lay reader. Judging weather is an imprecise science and does require some understanding of mathematical analysis, at least if one is using the formulas and data presented here. Overall however, you will not find a guide that takes such a complex subject as meteorology and distills it down into a simpler set of rules and guidelines than this one, at least not without sacrificing accuracy. How's The Weather? is a fascinating book for meteorology buffs as well as the non-specialist general reader trying to plan their vacation anywhere in the U.S.

This is a well-written story of what the farmers and ranchers of North and South Dakota went through in their devastating loss of half a million cattle during the unbelievable winter blizzards that started in October of '96 and did not let up until May of '97. Being a Montanan native and having experienced snowstorms all my life (indeed, we just had a snowstorm two days ago and it's June), I related to this and could not imagine how the people survived and kept going. Carol includes many stories from many of the ranchers and the laborers (snowplowers, etc.) of how they felt and what they thought. This is a hardscrabble tale of tenacity that keeps people going despite watching the heartbreak of their cattle dying every day. Not only is it an economic loss, but it is an emotional loss, for the ranchers feel they have shirked their duties in caring for their livestock. Page after page, Carol describes with great detail what happened. Certainly, all who live in the northern states should read it but those outside should read it out of interest in the farming and ranching roles of life that sustain us all and put meat on our table. The Dakotans were heroic and Carol's writing of their anquished ordeal was superb.

I've never had to live through a hurricane. Living in the Midwest, I don't see it happening in the near future, and after reading HURRICANE FORCE I can say that I'm glad! If you've ever wondered about the destructive force of these massive storms, this is definitely the book for you.

Although a large portion of the book focuses on the August 2005 arrival of Hurricane Katrina to the Gulf Coast, references are also made to hurricanes dating as far back as the early 1900's. Chapters are also spent on the work done by the National Weather Service in tracking, reporting, and identifying hurricanes, as well as how NWS strategies have changed over the years.

Maps and photos of actual radar images are prevalent throughout the book, tracking the progress of well-known hurricanes such as Katrina, Rita, and Charley. Photos of horrific damage resulting from these hurricanes, especially that of Katrina, are also shown, making the devastation seem that much more personable.

I would recommend HURRICANE FORCE to anyone interested in hurricanes, Katrina in particular, but also to those looking for more insight on how hurricanes form and what causes them to strike where they do. A highly informative book!

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"