Wild Weather: Blizzards! (Hello Reader! Level 4 Science

An easy-to-read introduction to weather phenomena explores the causes and impact of severe blizzards, describes famous storms, and furnishes information on how scientists study and predict them. Original.

Grade 2-3-Combining actual incidents (e.g., teachers rescuing their classes during the storm of 1888, and deer in a Buffalo zoo escaping over snowdrifts in 1977) and scientific weather data in an easy-reader format makes this title a sure choice for whole-language science curricula. Included are windchill tables; a page of "Blizzard Tips"; information on the formation of winter weather patterns; and a look at the meteorologist's task of sifting through incoming data, computer projections, and personal experience to predict the onset of severe storms. Pastel-toned illustrations, diagrams, and maps round out the package. This title is not as scientifically focused as Arlene Erlbach's Blizzards (Childrens, 1995), but is still a tidy introduction to a fearsome weather phenomena (with a nice lacing of history to boot).
Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Hopping does a very good job with this entry in the Hello Reader! Science series. She grabs readers' interest by first dramatically describing several blizzards in which lives were put in peril. She then goes on to describe the weather conditions that bring a blizzard into being. The watercolor artwork that accompanies the text is effective, and the whole package is one that will inform new readers, challenge their reading skills, and pique their interest in nonfiction. A list of "blizzard tips" rounds out the package. Ilene Cooper