A Weather Book For the Younger Set

Witnessing the changing sunlight, knowing the tilt of the earth as it travels around the sun brings changes in our seasons and weather, I can't help but think of God's hand in the creation of our world.  It's truly miraculous!

Today I'd like to introduce you to a fun and simple book about weather: Willy and Lilly's Adventures with Weather.  It is written by Meteorologist and now Mom, Jennifer Stanonis. 

Jennifer has covered and forecasted tornadoes, major snow storms, forest fires, floods, polar vortexes and more during her decades of meteorological TV weather reporting. The seeds that grew into Willy and Lilly's Adventures with Weather were sown while taking her twins on walks in all sorts of weather. 

Her engaging explanation of changing weather in this cute picture book - featuring a brother, sister, and their dog and cat - is great for 4-6 year olds. Kids will enjoy Jennifer's Stanonis' rhyming text and Bill Blenk's colorful illustrations.

Among other things, children will learn that their shadows are long in the winter, when the sun is low in the sky and short in the summer, when the sun is highest.  

Lots of different types precipitation are talked about, and a nice meteorologist (who looks a lot like the author, haha!) points out the warm and cold fronts from the kids' television screen. Willy uses technology to help him plan his day as he checks in on the day's forecast by the hour on a small digital screen. 

For further reading:

For children wanting a more in-depth discussion and fun activity exploring the science of the seasons (using an orange and a pencil and flashlight), I highly recommend Frankly M. Branley's Sunshine Makes the Seasons, for ages 4-8.  Our children loved all his science picture books - they're great for homeschoolers!  To see more of his books, go here.

Will and Lilly's Adventures with Weather, by Jennifer Stanonis is illustrated by Bill Blenk and published by CrissCrossAppleSauce/City of Light Publishing. This fun story will help young meteorologists notice important details as they learn about predicting weather!  There's also a handy reference at the back with definitions of "Weather Words" from the book.