Member Reviews

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

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Another book that is fun and informative for both children and adults. Very entertaining. A good way to learn.

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I was really hoping to be able to read this one with my son who I think would’ve loved it but unfortunately I was not able to download it properly to read and review. Loved the cover though great for children.

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This is a beautiful elementary STEM book about weather. I enjoyed it, and I think that younger students will, too!

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"My First Fact File Weather" by Dr. Jen Green is a great introduction to kids about the weather. Starting with the importance of the sun and the earth's atmosphere to other types of extreme weather like hurricanes and tornadoes, Dr. Jen presents the information in a way understandable to most elementary-age children.

The illustrations by Tom Woolley are unique and draw your eye. Each topic includes an easy experiment for kids to try out to understand the topic using kinetic learning techniques.

Overall, this is a full book with lots of information to engage every future scientist interested in studying the science of weather.

I received this eBook free of charge from Quarto Publishing Group – Ivy Kids via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. I did not receive any fiscal compensation from either company for this review and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.

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Thank you Quatro and Netgalley for this ARC.

This book was thoroughly enjoyed by myself and my child, there balance of facts and illustrations was good and it provided lots of opportunity to discuss weather patterns and how these affect different people and where they live.

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4.5 stars.

This book is focused mostly on the weather and the how's especially about rain, snow and natural disasters because of the weather. My favorite part of the book is how scientists figure out what's going to be the weather in the coming days.

Like the Ocean fact file, it mentions global warming but very briefly compared to the Ocean fact file. The tips as well are just repetition of the summary of the chapter.

I've read each of these fact files before posting the reviews and since they're technically almost the same books, though just with different topics, my reviews may be similar to each other.

What I liked about these fact files was that they were short and to the point. The art is simple but childishly cute and it was nice that they covered the whole page. There are tips and also activities mentioned in some pages.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the digital copy for an honest review.

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This is a short, colorful, fact-filled children's book on weather. Each topic gets a two-page spread and there's sometimes a short experiment given to extend kids' understanding. Examples of topics are biomes, oceans and seas, seasons, the atmosphere, climate, tornadoes, why it rains, and future weather. The text is brief enough to keep kids interested and the illustrations are quite helpful.

The reasons I didn't give it more stars:

1. It's hard to know the intended age. Much of it is stuff kids learn in kindergarten or first grade (or should) but then it's long and full of enough text that it seems more designed for older kids. The first page has a rainbow and asks kids if they know that rainbows are formed by sunlight shining through raindrops. What kid doesn't? But then the spread on highs, lows and fronts would probably be confusing to even an older kid.

2. There were areas where I was frustrated by incomplete information, such as the section on the water cycle. Modern water cycle information now includes either adding transpiration (plants and trees taking the moisture back up from the soil and releasing it through their leaves) or combining transpiration and evaporation into evapotranspiration. The water cycle cannot work without the work of plants and trees in transpiration (see https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/wa...).

3. Climate change information is added to the back, almost as an afterthought, instead of being included in the entire book where it effects many of the subjects covered. Even the section on climate does not include any information about climate change. Then at the end, it says that earth's climate changes naturally but slowly, and that pollution has added more greenhouse gases that are speeding up climate change. The next page says that future weather will be more unpredictable (more droughts, storms, etc.) because of climate change and suggests small steps that individuals can take to slightly slow it down (turn off electronics when not in use, walk instead of taking a car...). This soft pedaling of the subject isn't doing anybody any favors and is just more of the same. We must start taking big steps to slow climate change, and that must include our governments and our corporations taking the biggest steps.

All that said, this is a fun and informational primer on weather that kids are likely to enjoy and learn from.

My rating system:
1 = hated it
2 = it was okay
3 = liked it
4 = really liked it
5 = love it, plan to purchase, and/or would buy it again if it was lost

I read a temporary digital ARC of the book for the purpose of review.

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This is a good explanation of basic weather systems, and includes things I'd forgotten like layers of the atmosphere and what the different cloud types are/mean, so that's great. I appreciate that the book even explains rains of frogs. I like the inclusion of the at-home experiments as well. Hands-on learning is so awesome.

I would really love to see a book use a more accurate map than the incorrect Mercator projection. (You can google "Mercator projection distortion" for more info.) Kids books especially have an obligation to get this correct from the very start.

I appreciate the inclusion of climate change and the fact that it will have a drastic impact on weather and that will in turn decrease our ability to live in the world. As always the solutions given are individual, not systemic-level. I'd love to see more "petition governments to hold large businesses accountable" but I guess perhaps that's advanced for a kids' book.

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Such a great book! This book had lots of information, but managed to keep everything quiet simple so kids can understand it well.
The illustrations were really cute.
This book would be a great addition to school libraries.

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What a great book for grade 3-5, good weather information and facts to take back to school to show off their smarts.

Loved this book, will continue on with the series.

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This is the third book that I have read in this non-fiction series. It is every bit as informative as the books I read on the Vikings and Ancient Romans.

This entry will intrigue children who are interested in weather and climate. They will learn the difference between those two terms and will also learn about biomes and more. In each section, the reader my find either a quick fact, a project or both. Learn what causes rain. Understand what clouds are made of. Find out what makes a rainbow. There is all this and more.

I especially enjoyed the illustrations in this book. When the weather is stormy, the pages are dark. They are lighter for better days.

There is a section about climate change and suggestions about things that kids can do to help. While not alarmist, this part of the book is helpful and realistic.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for my honest opinon.

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Such an informative book! There is a lot of information, but it's presented in a way that isn't overwhelming to youngsters wanting to learn about the weather. The illustrations are wonderfully done as well!

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Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As part of my curriculum, my class study weather including extreme weathers. It is often hard to find engaging books which are accessible to all but also contain a good depth of information. This book easily tick all those boxes.

It is clearly organised, very engaging to look at and has an excellent balance of text to illustrations. The text s broken up and laid out in an easy to follow way. The information does not feel too wordy (which often leads to students becoming disinterested) and the use of 'Quick Facts' boxes makes it easy to find snippets of information.

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My First Fact File Weather is part of a series of short fact and exercise books aimed at younger children (K-2+). Released 23rd July 2019 by Quarto on their Ivy Kids imprint, it's 48 pages and available in paperback format.

Very well done book, and an interesting and worthwhile series. I've been touting STE(A)M education for decades. This book is engaging and colorful. Facts are presented in context with color gouache paintings on each double page. Relevant information is presented in sidebars. The included STEAM activities are also presented in sidebars at the bottom of the pages. Possibly worth noting, the book uses British spellings: 'clingfilm', 'kilometres', etc. The instances are few, and clear in context, so it's not a problem, but probably worthy of comment in a review.

Chapters are short and cover the water cycle, clouds, weather, barometric pressure, thunder & lightning, droughts & floods, conservation & climate change, and much more. The art style is unpretentious and appealing (see cover).

This would make a great bedtime read or a reading circle or classroom read for young readers, and the series would be great as a part of a homeschool library. There's a short alphabetical glossary included at the end.

Five stars.

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This is the sort of Cross curricular book that is needed. Not only does it bring the joy and the science it brings with it an element of interactivity that is required to ensure STEM progresses beyond the classroom.
This is a book I fully intend to purchase for my nephew once it’s out. I may even buy it for my god son, who is a little older, but will perhaps be able to do the activities a little more independently than my nephew.

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This informational book is simply fabulous. It lays out fun facts about Weather and the things that affect them it. Weather is “The state of the air at a particular place and time.” What a great explanation.

This book is colorful and laid out it a fun, interesting way. Each page contains a great deal of information about things such tornadoes, thunder and lightning and atmospheric condition. Along with the information provided, the pages contain fun facts and experiments the reader can perform. It concludes with a handy glossary of terms.

The illustrations are cute. The primary colors enhance the excitement of delving into the subject.

I highly recommend this book and the other book. My First Fact File Oceans, to homes and elementary schools alike. I intend to purchase all of them and collect new ones as they are published. This will be a great addition to any library.



I was granted a wish and received an ARC from Quarto Publishing Group – Ivy Kids through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book.

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A reasonable primer for all things climatic, that will serve pretty well in a primary school library. Pleasant double-page spreads attest to the strong design, while the text is basically an introductory paragraph, and other bit-bots, with the artwork's captions conveying many factoids. You also get ideas for perfectly kitchen-table-friendly science experiments, which will add to this volume's shelf life. Topics covered are perfectly sensible, ranging from the Beaufort scale of wind force, to how hurricanes and tornados are formed, what creates snow, hail and thunderstorms, and more. The brevity of it all is enough to make us hopeful the closing sections on climate change do not get ignored. I do think the book was pitched rather young, however, with every spread getting a 'quick facts' box-out that was stating the obvious and rather repetitive. That aside, this series of non-fiction guides looks to be one worth consideration.

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My First Fact Files
I am always on the search for kid-friendly nonfiction series. Kids love them, and a great series is harder to find than it may seem.

When looking for a great nonfiction series, one needs to find a collection that is engaging with both its topics and illustrations. In addition, there should be tons of nonfiction text features to help support the Common Core Standards of teaching nonfiction.

Finally, the readability needs to support learning, so the text must be written utilizing scientific or historical language that students should be learning as they read along with these nonfiction texts.

My First Fact Files is a new nonfiction series that I have come across, and I love it. This series is fantastic!
It checks every one of my boxes for a great nonfiction series. The topics are engaging, the illustrations are stunning, the books are packed with text features, and scientific/historical language is utilized on every page of these texts.

So far, I have had the opportunity to read three texts from this series: My First Fact Files: Weather, My First Fact Files: Oceans, and My First Fact Files: The Vikings. Each one of these books was great on its own. But as a collection, they are a total wow!

What surprised me the most about this series is that every one of these books was written by a different author. However, the cohesion between the structure and design of these books are flawless. Anyone will clearly be able to tell that they belong together in a series, and I highly doubt most readers will even notice that all the books were written by different authors.

The readability of this series is deeper than what I would have predicted based on the cover designs of the story. Before I dug into reading these books, my guess was that this series was designed for younger elementary students.

When I opened the texts up, I was surprised to see that there was a ton of text and nonfiction depth on every page. I would recommend this series for middle to upper elementary readers. I teach 4th grade, and this book would be a great fit for many of my readers.

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Visually appealing, well-organised, informative, a real treat for both parents and children who want to know more and understand better a variety of natural phenomena related to the weather. The book covers the five layers of the atmosphere, oceans and seas and how they help to spread the heat around the planet, the Beaufort scale of wind strength measurement, the water cycle, a clear guide to basic cloud types, rain, hail and lightning, extreme weather such as hurricanes, tornadoes and droughts, and, of course, the Earth's climate change. In short, this is a marvellously comprehensive introduction into meteorology, written in an accessible way and coupled with practical activities and experiments to let the young reader discover how the science of the weather works.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ivy Kids for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

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