Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Wake Up, Weather
Illustrator: Monique Felix
Board Book
For ages 2 to 4
Creative Editions, 2016 ISBN: 978-1568462868
Toddlers and young children very quickly learn to understand what to expect when certain kinds of weather affect the place where they live. They know a sunny day is likely to be hot, that rain makes everything wet, and that snow is cold. Weather is something that happens out there in the big world, something that is out of our control.
In this book the author challenges her young audience to think about weather in a different way. She pairs types of weather with descriptive action words so that the weather comes alive on the pages. For example, on the first spread we see the sun glowing in the sky. It does not just shine, it “sizzles,” a word that captures the heat beautifully. Later on we see the main character in the book, who happens to be a frog, in a marsh that is full of fog that “creeps” around the bulrushes. When we next see the frog, in his pea green jacket and stripy britches, he is happily skating on a frozen pond and “Snow swirls” around him.
Discovering how descriptive words can change how we view our world is one of life’s little pleasures. In this book the author sets little children on this journey of discovery in a delightful and engaging way.
