The flurry of snowflakes, the drizzle of rain, the assault of hail, the bright sun warming your face – we have experienced the full range of weather in the past month.
It is now officially part of our morning routine for my son to holler “Alexa? What’s the weather?” before he decides what coat and shoes to wear outside.
My kids love weather. The excuses to wear snow boots or pull out umbrellas. The puddles to jump in and the snow mountains to climb.
This week is all about that range of weather and some of our favorite read alouds about Weather are below.
This was originally shared as part of our A Read A Day challenge – the details are in this intro post.
affiliate links are included below.
Book Suggestions for Week 14
Weather Picture Books
Monday: Read a Book about Weather
The Magic School Bus Inside a Hurricane By Joanna Cole
We love the Magic School Bus books. In fact we love everything Magic School Bus. We read the books, we watch the show, we use the Magic School Bus Science Kits. This book takes Ms Frizzle and her class inside a hurricane. These books never fail to entertain and educate my five year olds.
Tuesday: Read a Book about Rain
Tap Tap Boom Boom By Elizabeth Bluemle
This is probably my favorite book on this week’s list. Bluemle’s words so perfectly describe a quick summer rain and when you pair them with G. Brian Karas’s illustrations (he’s one of my favorites – search for him at the library!) you have perfectly. This tells the story of one of those quick rainstorms that bursts from the clouds and has you dashing for cover. The people in this book huddle in the subway station and for a brief moment weather brings strangers together.
Wednesday: Read a Book about Thunderstorms
Thunderstorm By Arthur Geisert
When my son was obsessed with storms and tornadoes this was his favorite book. He chose it every night before bed, he pulled it out every day during playtime, we renewed it endlessly from our library. At the end of the day we bought him a copy. It is a nearly wordless book that follows a family in the country as a storm rolls in, over, and out. The illustrations are rich with details that a little one can absorb for hours (speaking from experience here). It is a dramatic story about weather and life on a farm.
Thursday: Read a Book about Tornadoes
Otis and the Tornado by Loren Long
I’m always nervous when an author takes one of our favorite books and makes another. When they pan out it’s delightful but often the subsequent books feel a little watered down or hurried. We loved the original Otis so very much that I almost didn’t pick this one up at the bookstore, but I ended up walking out with it that day. It is the story of sweet, brave little Otis and a tornado. When the sky turns green and the farmers race under ground it is Otis who saves the farm animals. The writing is so spot on that I could feel my heart rate quicken as I read. A wonderful story about bravery, friendship and tornadoes.
Friday: Read a Book about Clouds
Cloudette By Tom Lichtenheld
There are a lot of fun books about clouds and I had trouble picking, so I decided to include the one I didn’t share with our Little Cloud Story Time. I love the cute illustrations in this book (done by the same person who illustrated Duck! Rabbit!) and the wonderful message that it is okay to be small.
Saturday: Read a Book about Wind
And The Wind Blew By Pat Hutchins
This is a classic (in fact the copy I have is from my childhood) but it stands the test of time even if the characters are dressed a little oddly by modern standards. A gust of wind comes along and one by one scoops up things in a small town. Soon a crowd of people are chasing their belongings until the wind mixes them up and drops them back down. It is silly. It rhymes. It has brief text. This is a wonderful read aloud.
Sunday Author Spotlight: Kevin Henkes
Kevin Henkes has a huge catalog of books. He started writing adorable picture books about mice when I was little. I used to anticipate a new mouse book appearing on the shelves.
Then he moved onto board books, novels, easy readers, and other picture books. He has something for everyone and I have yet to be disappointed by a title. I have so many favorites I don’t know where to start. We own almost every one of his titles, except the one I’m sharing today (hint to the grandparents! wink!) because they are all delightful for different reasons.
I love Owen and Wemberly and Lilly for the different but all equally delightful ways they describe every day childhood moments and personalities and emotions.
I love his sweet board books because I have such fond memories of reading them to my daughter when she was a toddler and she looks for them every week at the library.
I loved his Billy Miller chapter book because I feel like I knew this sweet, awkward little boy and those emotion filled, ordinary grade school moments.
And now I love his new picture books. There are a bunch and he has won several awards for them. I’m sharing our current favorite below.
Really just look for Henkes on your local library or bookstore shelf and get lost.
You can visit Kevin Henkes online.
Egg by Kevin Henkes
This is a perfect book for Spring or Easter. The soft pastel colors, the birds, the eggs. This book would be good for toddlers and up. My kindergarteners are enjoying it because the text is simple and repetitive so they can read it on their own. The story is of 4 eggs. Three crack and birds pop out. The other one requires some waiting and an open mind.
