Look at the Weather

by Britta Teckentrup

Overview

When you stop to think about it, weather is incredible: it’s whimsical, varied, ever-present, sometimes destructive and other times, beautiful. This immersive illustrated nonfiction book is an invitation for readers to ponder weather and approach it with a newfound sense of understanding, awe, and wonder.



Through four chapters—sun, rain, ice and snow, and extreme weather—this book explores different weather phenomena, from rainbows and sunsets to clouds, frost, and rainstorms. Moments of distress and destruction are offset by the calm after a storm or the peaceful feeling of a blanket of fresh snow.



Evocative paintings convey the sheer power of weather, while lyrical text captures the richness of our natural environment. The book takes an inspiring tone rather than an exhaustive, factual one. The book explicitly makes the links between extreme weather, climate change, and human activity, and poses questions often, inviting young readers to observe and inquire about their own environment or to imagine other ones.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771472869
Publisher:	OWLKIDS BOOKS
Publication date:	04/15/2018
Pages:	152
Sales rank:	402,716
Product dimensions:	7.80(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	7 - 11 Years

About the Author

BRITTA TECKENTRUP is an award-winning illustrator, author, and fine artist. She was born in Hamburg and studied at St Martin's College and the Royal College of Art. She has written and illustrated over 90 children's picture books, published in over 20 countries, and her art has been exhibited at fairs all over the world. Britta now lives in Berlin, Germany with her Scottish husband, son Vincent, and their old cat, Oksar.

Editorial Reviews

01/29/2018
German author-artist Teckentrup (Oskar and Mo) devotes four chapters of this long-format picture book to aspects of the weather: “Sun,” “Rain,” “Ice and Snow,” and “Extreme Weather.” Brief scientific facts (“When the air cools at night, the water vapor in the ground becomes dew”) alternate with lyrical observations (“The setting sun spreads its golden light over the ground”). The pages offer anywhere from a single sentence to several short paragraphs opposite evocative, silkscreen-style landscapes and meditative views of skies brushed with clouds, snowflakes, and driving rain. The images create a sense of grandeur, but they’re not detailed enough to represent cloud types or ice crystals, for example. Those interested in extreme weather may be disappointed by the calm, impressionistic representations of hurricanes and floods. The work is strongest when it looks at the way everyday weather makes humans feel and invites readers to reflect on their experiences. Each section finishes with questions: “Have you ever seen a sunset that seemed to fill the sky like a blanket of fire?” Climate change is broadly referred to toward the end but is not the book’s main focus. Ages 7–up. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"This is a truly lovely and poetic introduction to weather for young naturalists."

Youth Services Book Review

"This is a lovely and contemplative look at what tends to be the focus for many of our days."

Sal's Fiction Addiction

"The beautiful grey washed paintings in Look at the Weather evoke a sense of peace and reflect the vastness of Earth."

Canadian Review of Materials

"The details encourage both careful, continuous observation and appreciation for the endless varieties of weather."

Horn Book - STARRED REVIEW

03/01/2018
Gr 1–5—Fans of Tree and Bee will recognize Teckentrup's bold and vibrant art style as she now introduces the topic of weather to readers. Although not as playful as her other books, this title explores the different elements of weather phenomena in four chapters: "Sun," "Rain," "Ice and Snow," and "Extreme Weather." In short lyrical prose, Teckentrup captures ephemeral sights: "Look at the clouds. Some look whispery and barely there. Others are puffy, like giant fleecy cotton balls." Her full-page and sometimes spread-size landscape illustrations evocatively convey the incredible variations and sheer power of weather. These range from the sometimes beautiful to the sometimes destructive. This illustrated nonfiction book captures the richness of our natural environment and invites young readers to observe and wonder about the world around them. ("Can you see the halo around the moon" What does it mean? Is it a sign of wet weather?") VERDICT This would work wonderfully as an introduction in a weather unit, as well as a lovely nature-themed read-aloud. Recommended.—Carole Phillips, Greenacres Elementary School, Scarsdale, NY

School Library Journal

★ 2018-02-03
A visual compendium of weather phenomena offers some scientific explanations along with more personal reflections.Teckentrup's handsome full-color, full-page illustrations in a generous trim size offer a range of perspectives and moods that photographs might be hard-pressed to capture. A conversational, explanatory text supports the art, briefly describing the science behind rain or sunlight or wind. "We have such a strong connection to the weather, we can't help but wonder about it." An unseen narrator invites readers to consider their own experiences with weather: "Have you ever seen a glorious, clear summer sky and wondered why it is so blue?" The illustrations are divided into four sections: "Sun," "Rain," "Ice and Snow," and "Extreme Weather." Landscapes and townscapes depicted are in four-season temperate (rather than desert or tropical) zones. People and animals appear as distant shapes in a very few of the illustrations. The introduction to extreme weather notes that it "feels like someone turned up the volume on our regular weather," acknowledging human activity as the cause of the rapid warming of the planet. Thunderstorms, hail, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, and droughts are described, and this section ends with a question about the future. A 27-item glossary and an author's note acknowledging several classical landscape painters constitute the backmatter. An immersive, inviting mix of appealing art and information. (Nonfiction. 5-10)

Kirkus Reviews