cover image On the Same Day in March: A Tour of the World's Weather

On the Same Day in March: A Tour of the World's Weather

Marilyn Singer. HarperCollins, $15.95 (40pp) ISBN 978-0-06-028187-8

In this companion volume to their Nine O'Clock Lullaby, Singer and Lessac embark on a meteorological trip around the globe, pointing out the drastically different weather conditions that can occur in various places, all on the same day. From the Arctic to the Texas Panhandle, Northern Kenya and all the way down to Antarctica, readers trek across both hemispheres, checking out snow, ice, fog, clouds, sun and heat. Singer's poetic language makes the voyage a particularly intriguing one, describing African rains that ""leave the gift of a river,"" Patagonian clouds, ""white puffs"" that ""vanish wet and cold/ in [a boy's] fat warm hands"" and, in Barbados, sunlight that ""dazzles on the sand."" Lessac's folk-art paintings are like stylized picture-postcards, featuring jaunty groupings of brightly clad people and distinctive backgrounds, ranging from bustling cityscapes to wide-open countryside. No matter the time of year, youngsters will be eager to take this informative tour. Ages 4-8. (Feb.)