Weird But True! Know-It-All: Weather & Natural Disasters by Michael Burgan

What worked:

The book is organized logically to explain the wide range of topics associated with weather and natural disasters. It begins with general explanations of the difference between climate and weather, and then moves into factors that contribute to the creation of different weather types. Uneven heating and cooling have a significant impact on them, but geography and components in the air influence the weather too.  Bright, colorful photographs, illustrations, and diagrams accompany the text to help clarify concepts. Curiosities, facts, and related weather stories are included in the chapters to break up the bounty of information. A section called “Furious Floods” is followed by an 1889 survival story from a Johnstown, Pennsylvania, flooding disaster. Of course, the book features a section on tornadoes. It describes how they form, the different levels, and interesting facts about them. Other pages talk about people who study tornadoes and the equipment they use. Featuring a meteorologist named Anton Seimon brings a personal touch to the fact-driven narrative. Another section similarly explains hurricanes and how they are studied. Other weather-related information can be found in paragraphs and graphics scattered throughout the book. These sections deal with topics like “burning rain”, the shape of raindrops, animals that survive being carried inside tornadoes, and weather-related folklore.

Besides tornadoes and hurricanes, other disasters result from blizzards, droughts, high winds, volcanoes, and more. This book seems to cover every conceivable subject related to weather and nature! The book’s second half goes through the various climates in more detail and explores topics readers might not think of. There are pages on the history of climates and how they’ve changed, and factors that might result in climates changing. Other parts talk about how animals have adapted to various climates, while other animals are in danger due to current changes in the climate. The book’s final section addresses the consequences of climate change happening today and what needs to be done to help stop them. The book shares what readers can do and careers related to weather. A glossary and index are at the back to help readers locate specific topics with a mini, true-false quiz for review.

What didn’t work as well:

Is it possible to have too much information? Readers can become overwhelmed by the abundance found in this book, which might overwhelm them with knowledge. This book is great for introducing everything related to weather, but readers will need to use other sources for more in-depth research.

The final verdict:

The short sections accompanied by vivid photographs and illustrations make the information accessible to all young readers. The variety of weather-related topics almost guarantees every reader will find something of interest. I recommend you give this book a shot.