Caroline Formby

High up in the clouds, Winifred Weathervane cooked up all of the weather needed around the world, from rain for the rainforests to snow for the arctic. But when this weather-maker decided to take a vacation in Australia, she forgot to do one important thing: turn off the gas under her pressure cooker. With wild weather all over the world, and a hole blown through the ozone layer, she needed to act quickly to set all to rights...

Published in 1995, Wild Weather Soup is a book I tracked down show more after seeing it on a list of witchy picture-books—a personal pet project of mine. As it turns out, the word "witch" is never used in the text, which is really more about the weather in different parts of the world, and an allegory about climate change (and climate disasters) disguised as a magical tale. Winifred forgets to turn the heat down on her cooker (a reference to global warming?), and the result is a string of catastrophes, including a hole in the ozone. While the latter is a little dated (this was published in the mid 1990s, after all), it's clear that there is an underlying message here, for those who wish to see it. For my part, I found the book enjoyable, despite its obvious didactic purpose, and think it would work equally well as a fun fairy-tale or a very gentle introduction to the topic of global weather and climate change. The artwork is colorful and engaging, and certainly plays on the magical "witch" theme, in those scenes in which Winifred is working with her cauldron (AKA, pressure cooker). Recommended to those looking for fairy-tales about the weather and/or picture-books that address changes in weather and climate from a more fictional perspective. show less

This was a cute book with a fun, fantastical premise - the world's weather is created by an old woman. I just wish the environmental message had been left out of it.

Story about a lady who's responsible for cooking up the world's weather. One day she forgets to turn off the gas on the stove and the weather goes wild. Children learn about the ozone layer and different weather patterns in this story. Good intro book for science in the younger grades, opens up good discussion.