Boy, Were We Wrong About the Weather!

The beliefs about weather since ancient times have been interesting and ever-changing. Ancient Sumerians believed the god of weather, Enlil, was angry. Taino Indians told Spanish explorers their storm god, Huracan, made huge storms at sea. The Spanish didn’t believe them. A wise man in ancient Greece thought everything was a mix of four elements: air, fire, wind, and earth. He thought weather was caused by these. They and many others were all wrong. Now, we have a much greater understanding of what causes weather, but we are still learning and changing our ideas.

Kathleen V. Kudlinski has written an interesting overview of how weather was thought of through the years, and compares it with our of it understanding today. The writing is light, and full of factual information that lower elementary children should enjoy. Sebastian Serra’s illustrations are cute and appropriate for the subject matter and the audience. There is not a lot of pizzazz in this book, but weather is not a very jazzy subject. This book will serve well as a good discussion starter in the home or classroom.