What are Clouds?

[Starred review]. Although I am often lucky to learn a few facts from elementary science books, What Are Clouds? is such a clear guide to cloud formation and types that I felt I’d never been properly taught the subject before. Photos, illustrations, and language are all clear and simple (a frog’s eye view of a sunlit pond on page 7, with evaporation illustrated, is particularly lovely). Where this book particularly shines is in the section on cloud types (pages 12, 22), in which the three major families of clouds are described (cumulus, stratus, and cirrus), followed by details on weather predictions given by the thickness and color of each type. The cloud chart of all of these types, on page 22, is nearly poster quality in beauty and clarity. Ellen Lawrence uses clear, simple language without condescension or salesmanship. This text is the rare classroom science book which I can picture a child asking a parent to read, from a lap on a porch with a good view of the clouds and sky.