So many amazing weather books have sat on our bookshelves the last several weeks while we learned all about weather. From nonfiction readers full of great information and pictures, to fun stories that grew our imagination, our bookshelves were stocked.
These are some of the great books we explored this month and our thoughts on them. All links are affiliate links for your convenience.
There are so many amazing nonfiction books available for learning about weather. Many of them are definitely above a preschoolers level, but can be great for looking at the pictures and discussing what you see, which is what we did with many of the books we had.
Weather Watchers Series by Cassie Mayer || The books in this series are perfect for introducing little learners to the different types of weather. They ask basic weather questions and provide excellent pictures and simple short answers to some of the frequently asked questions pertaining to the different types of weather. They are short and to the point which helps hold little ones attention longer.
Wind || Snow || Sunshine || Thunder and Lightening || Rain || Clouds
Weather ABC An Alphabet book by B.A. Hoena || This was one of our favorite nonfiction books. Each letter of the alphabet was introduced using a weather themed word and each word was accompanied by a great easy and simple definition. The real pictures in this book take up the whole page and make quite the statement. Hearing Little Miss shout out “Mommy there’s an H” Mommy there is a cloud” was so fun and made this book even more interactive and enjoyable for both of us.
National Geographic Kids Everything Weather || I absolutely love all of the National Geographic books. They are definitely above a preschool level; however I love using them to look at the breathtaking pictures.
The Let’s Read and Find out Science Volumes 1 & 2 Series || All of the weather books in this series are fantastic for little learners. They are all fantastic simple, easy to read stories that accurately describes the different kinds of weather we may encounter. The simple descriptions and exceptional pictures helped my preschooler understand some importat weather information. She loves looking out the window and telling me what she thinks the weather will be like by looking at the clouds after reading the Clouds book by Anne Rockwell.
Clouds || Feel The Wind || Down Comes the Rain || Flash, Crash, Rumble & Roll || What Will the Weather Be?
I like Weather Series by Judith Williams || These books answer the simple question Why? Why is it snowing? Why is it raining? These books go on to answer this question through a series of other questions. While some of the information is more in depth, it does give a very good overview of the process and there are many excellent pictures to help describe it to even the littlest learners. My favorite part of these books are the vocabulary words and definitions they include at the front of the book. My three year old wasn’t extremely interested in reading these books, but did love looking at the pictures and talked about how they were like other things we were talking about throughout our unit. These books are a school and library only series.
The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins || From the minute we picked this book up and did a picture walk through it, we loved it. Little Miss was able to guess what was going to happen in the story before we ever read a single word in the book based on the amazing and detailed pictures. With each turn of the page, another item is swooped away by the wind until the wind decides to mix everything up and drop it down on top of its “victims” before moving off to sea. Questions like “What is the wind going to take next?” And “Why do you think it is going to take this instead of that?” were asked and it allowed us to talk about how the different strengths of wind can blow different things away.
When the Wind Blew by Alison Jackson || This book is a fun take on the classic “Rock a bye baby” and features little snippets of other nursery rhymes with each turn of the page making it very relatable for my preschooler. This was one of those that had my little one giggling along with the rhyme saying “That’s silly mommy” as we read every page.
Cloudette by Tom Lichtenheld || This is an adorable story about a little cloud who learns that being small can be a good thing. She can fit through tight spaces and always has the perfect spot to watch fireworks. Cloudette teaches little ones that no matter how you are, you can truly make a difference in a big way.
Little Cloud by Eric Carle || This was one of our first books we read during our Weather Unit and it was one of Little Miss’ favorites. Little Cloud takes on a bunch of different shapes, like a sheep, airplane, shark, and clown before joining back up with all the other clouds to form one big cloud. Little Miss loved telling me what she saw in the clouds before we read the words and she could often be found reading it and pointing them out on her own as well.
It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles Shaw || And if we had to pick a favorite weather themed book, this would be the winner. The book features blue pages with white “blobs” on every page. What exactly is the blob? Is it really an ice cream cone? It sure looks like it, but is it really. Each page keeps you on the edge of your seat until you reach the very end where the real truth of what the blob is, is revealed. Little Miss absolutely loved this book and although she knew after the first time of reading this what the blobs really were, she got so excited to read it from begging to end over and over again. A Definite must read.
Puddle Jumpers by Anne Margaret Lewis || This adorable book came in our The Storybox book box and it couldn’t have come during a better month. This fun book takes us on a puddle jumping adventure with a little boy named Sam who was warned by his mother not to get messy. But who could resist a puddle when it invites him to play? I know I couldn’t. His imagination went wild and he was a frog jumping through a pond, a polar bear with purple polar hair and so many more amazing things that just screamed imagination.
Kite Day by Will Hillenbrand || During a leisurely stroll, Bear declares it Kite day and him and Mole set out to build and fly a kite. They are having fun until a storm rolls in and snaps the kite and they take off after it. They find it nestled in a tree giving shelter to baby birds. This is such a fun friendly preschool story that both of my little ones love and asked to read over and over.
A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman || This is a cute story about a little boy who sees a rainbow and when he chases it he finds it is gone. He imagines what it would be like to have a rainbow to play with every day. The perfectly sketched pictures are the perfect addition to this story. It captures the innocence and imagination of childhood so perfectly well and will be a treasured story for years to come.
My Color is Rainbow by Agnes Hsu || This is a beautiful brightly colored book about love and acceptance and helps us to celebrate our differences and appreciate our similarities. The sweet message that it is ok to be yourself no matter your color or size is perfect for little learners. This is such a great book to go along with a rainbow theme and you can incorporate it into so many fun rainbow themed activities.
What Makes A Rainbow by Betty Schwartz || This book is so much fun for toddlers and preschoolers. With each turn of the page, a ribbon rainbow begins to appear. So many “oohs” and “ahhs” were heard as we went through each page. The pictures are vibrant and engaging. This is the perfect book for learning colors and talking about rainbows.
Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle || I think this may be our favorite book on our bookshelf out of hundreds. We have read this book so many times, Little Miss 3 has it memorized and it is the cutest thing to hear her “read” the story to us. We included this book into our Weather unit because of how mud is formed. While the words may never talk about rain, the pictures tell another story. This is a great book for talking about how pictures can tell the story just as much as the words on the page do.
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats || This is a story of a little boy named Peter who wakes up one day to find snow has fallen outside. He sets off on an adventure exploring and playing in the snow and even tries to take home a snowball but soon finds out snowballs inside your pocket do not keep. My little ones love this story and have even tried to be Peter during the wintertime when we play outside. Such a great story for toddlers and preschoolers to enjoy the wonder the first snow brings.
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett || This is such a classic and fun story and was the perfect ending to our Weather preschool theme. Imagine a town that experiences weather in the form of food falling from the sky. I am sure all little ones would probably choose junk foods wouldn’t they. Little Miss thought this was hilarious and said she would love it if ice cream and donuts fell from the sky all the time, but only if they were nice and small. None of those gigantic scary food storms.
******************************
Be sure to check out all of our other Weather Themed Preschool Posts for more learning inspiration.
No comments
Post a Comment