Blizzards

Children's Literature

This title, part of the "Weather Update" series, is an introduction to the meteorology involved in predicting big storms, as well as a bit of social studies, showing the effects of the storms on people. Sections include: "What Are Blizzards?" "How Blizzards Form," "Where Blizzards Happen," and "Forecasting Blizzards." Each section is discussed in two or three paragraphs and uses an illustrating photo on the opposite (even numbered) page. It is a clear, if pedantic, format. What is lacking is descriptions of how cold and how loud blizzards can really get. The only temperatures mentioned are "below freezing." Freezing temperatures of 32 degrees F, aren't seriously dangerous to walk around in. Yet the book mentions the dangers of walking through a blizzard. How cold does it get? How hard does the wind blow? What does it sound like? For all the accurate and scientific weather described in the book, I wanted to understand the sense of a blizzard and all its chaos. This book, however, is too orderly for such a white whirlwind. Back matter includes a glossary, an index and a "Read More" section. Like other books by this publisher, the back matter includes an invitation to visit Facthound.com, a filtering device for web searches. Facthound.com is a wonderful innovation because it keeps children safe while doing research on the web. The reader is invited to type in the query and Facthound.com returns a list of vetted sites. 2006, Bridgestone Books/Capstone Press, Ages 6 to 8.
—Amy S. Hansen