Ana Paula is heartbroken by her unsuccessful attempts, but she refuses to give up on her enormous dream and chooses to try each time again. She is unafraid of failing and understands that perseverance is the only way that she will achieve her goal. Lost in the Clouds was written in partnership with an experienced grief expert,. The book gently explores the concept of grief and teaches kids how to understand and deal with losing a loved one. This tale, with its colorful, beautiful illustrations and sensitive narrative, will help you explain death to your small child and, hopefully, bring some degree of comfort to you both. A few reviewers said that the subject matter was a little too advanced for small children. Pros and Cons of The Cloud Book by Tomie dePaola Pros Even though my Four insists that “clouds are boring,” I almost got him to listen to this whole book without much complaint. Even though this is a mostly nonfiction book, it’s full of DePaola’s charm and humor. The book is very informative but also adds humor in the illustrations and little stories. A must for any weather unit! Billy believes that his mother now lives among the clouds and is happy when “she” allows the sun to shine on him. When the clouds are dark, he becomes sad and lonely.

This book from the Let’s-Read-And-Find-Out Science series provides a great introduction to tornadoes, which are powerful stormsin which clouds build up rapidly and eventually begin to funnel down to the ground. In this book we learn many basic facts about tornadoes, including the fact that they usually touch down over land,but those that touch down over water are called waterspouts. We further learn that tornadoes are most common in spring when cold air from the sky meets warm air near the Earth’s surface, causing the warm air to spin upwards. The book describes the destruction that tornadoes can cause, as well as the noise level from a big tornado. Readers will also learn about safety precautions to take if they are ever faced with a tornado. This book will be enjoyed by kids ages 4 to 8. A few reviewers didn’t like the author’s style. One said, “Unfortunately the prose style starts to become very annoying from quite early on, especially the childish anthropomorphism (this cloud is ‘the Darth Vader of clouds’, others are ‘lazy’ or like members of a street gang) and the lame jokes become very irritating. The overall effect is of one of those school science videos trying embarrassingly hard to make science ‘cool’ and ‘relevant’ but succeeds only in irritating its audience.” Pros and Cons of The Cloudspotter’s Guide: The Science, History, and Culture of Clouds byGavin Pretor-Pinney Pros

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

In this book from the quirky Magic School Bus series, readers will find themselves on an adventurewith Ms. Frizzle and her class. This particular adventure finds the class creating many different kinds of weather using the controls in their magic bus, including different wind patterns, clouds, ice crystals, rain, lightening, thunder, and snow. The takeaway message from the story is that wind, water, and heat are the main “ingredients” that create weather, and they make different types of weather depending on the combination of the three “ingredients.” This book is geared toward kids ages 4 to 8. If Greek mythology seems like a lofty subject for small children, don’t worry. The author Tomie dePaola made myth and legends come alive inspired by the shapes of clouds. His storytelling was funny and his illustrations were offbeat and sure to capture any child’s imagination — much like clouds do! Several reviewers didn’t like the book’s layout. Pros and Cons of The Cloud Book byRichard Hamblyn Pros After its very well received first edition, this second edition is revised and expanded, including plenty of new photos to cover every possible view of the sky. With this at-a-glance guide to the clouds anywhere in the world, on land or at sea, you will be able to predict the weather by recognising cloud types, shapes, colours and behaviour. One reviewer said that their toddler was already bored with the book because each cloud illustration looked so similar. A couple of verified buyers said it wasn’t Carle’s best book. Pros and Cons of Little Cloud by Eric Carle Pros

Children are fascinated by clouds, usually because their active imaginations see images that adults are too jaded — or too busy — too see. The book also helps you discover some different optical effects that you see unfold in the sky. You’ll see rainbows, coronas, halos, and different flashes. John has a way of bringing the magic of the universe into this book for you to enjoy from the comfort of your own home. You’ll see images of phenomena that you may not have even known existed. For example, the sun pillar, or different shafts of bright light that stretch from the earth all the way up to the sky. You’ll also be privy to a cloud chart that explains how clouds form and gives you a glimpse into forecasting and even photographing clouds. The little boy tries to discourage the king, but the king refuses to listen. Soon the world is feeling the drastic effects of the king’s greed. This is a fascinating story about the wonder and fragility of our natural environment and the knowledge and fortitude required to preserve it. This is a simple book with a lot of nice photographs. I couldn’t fool my Four, though. (“I don’t want to read another book about clouds!”) The layout felt a little too busy and colorful, but it’s a nice little book.

The featured book for the Virtual Book Club for Kids captures this childhood moment and this is the foundation of our story time for this week.

Children of all ages can be interested in the sky and the great clouds uniquely displayed there. On car rides or barbeques, little ones will point and say look, that cloud looks like a horse or dragon. Their imaginations are more active than ours, which is a truly admirable trait. These cloud books are thoroughly reviewed to meet several criteria. This is perfect for teaching kids how to deal with bad days and lets them feel normal, knowing they aren’t the only ones to feel that way. This book includes helpful facts and even a few fun activities to make learning about clouds even more eventful. This is a great book for toddlers and young preschoolers because it is simple and easy to read. Find the shapes in the clouds and have fun. Little Cloud, by Eric Carle If your child is small for their age, Cloudette by Tom Lichtenheld will help them feel 10 feet tall! This picture book, which is available in hardcover or Kindle formats is intended for kids in preschool to two-year-old. It follows Cloudette, a tiny cumulus cloud, who wants to accomplish great things.

The 6 Best Books About Clouds That Teach and Inspire FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) 

This is a short, charming story about a little cloud boy who is lonely. He creates things out of clouds for the children below. As they enjoy his creations he realizes he will never be lonely again. Tomie dePaola (1954 – 2020) was a renowned children’s book author and artist for nearly fifty years. When all the other clouds rise, he goes his own way, morphing into anything he wishes, such as a shark or an airplane. It’s all loads of fun, but so is playing with his pals. So this time, Little Cloud joins the crowd, forming an immense cloud with his friends. Then it starts to rain!

Another reviewer said that they prefer that books for toddlers not include negative behavior from any of the characters (in this case, the king). Several reviewers reported that they were disappointed by the content, including one who said, “I was expecting much more factual information including types of clouds. My daughter likes the pictures, but I was disappointed.” Pros and Cons of Explore My World Clouds byMarfe Ferguson Delano Pros National Geographic Kids Everything Weather: Facts, Photos, and Fun that Will Blow You Away by Kathy Furgang This is not a storybook you will start and finish in one sitting, but it a fun, colorful, and fact-filled book about whether that will appeal to kids ages 6 to 12. The book is broken into four sections titled “What’s the Weather?”, “Weather Extremes,”“Weather Predictions,” and “Fun with Weather.” The book is filled withbright, bold, and beautiful photographs, lots of great information about all kinds of weather, and tons of fun weather factoids. I learned a lot right along with my kids while reading this book. Wouldn’t it be useful to be able to come up with an accurate weather forecast simply by reading the clouds? Well, with this book, you can!If you have a kid that is often anxious or stressed about things, Greta and the Dark Cloud by Lana Simkins (author), Alina Shabelnyk (illustrator) can help them understand the benefits of working through complex emotions. It is a story about being afraid of thunderstorms, and the main character is Greta.