The Cloud Book

Prolific American children's author and artist Tomie dePaola explores the world of clouds in this picture book from 1975. Describing the three main kinds of clouds—cirrus, cumulous and stratus—and then the other kinds which combine the qualities (and names) of these three, the book highlights how these different types of clouds behave (the weather which comes from them). The book also presents folk beliefs and sayings involving clouds, and closes with a mini cloud story...

I've been on a Tomie dePaola kick recently (themed reading projects are a weakness of mine), and tracking down some of the classic titles I never read as a girl. I was well familiar with his Strega Nona books, and others, but his nonfiction is new to me. I found show more The Cloud Book engaging, and think that it makes an excellent introduction to the subject, for very young children. There are doubtless better books out there, from a scientific perspective, as what is presented here is very basic, but this would be a good beginning place for the child who is fascinated by clouds, but not yet ready for more complex information. The accompanying artwork is trademark dePaola, and lots of fun. Recommended to young cloud-gazers who want to learn a little bit more. show less

When I was presented with a month long curriculum on weather I knew that I needed to find an interesting book for my kids. Working with first graders means that every single book I read to them needs to be bright, vivid and intriguing or well...they have short attention spans, you get the gist!

Of course when I found out that Tommie DePaola had a book about clouds, I snagged it! My kids have previous experience with his books and they love the illustrations. The best part about The Cloud Book is definitely the illustrations. Each page describes a different type of cloud formation, and then shows an example of that type. The kids loved this! They also loved how the book mentions that clouds can look like real life animals, shapes, show more etc.

What is really great about this book is also that it transcends all grades. Yes, the illustrations are adorable, but the information within in genuinely well put together! I didn't end up reading every page to the kids because, well let's face it, cumulonimbus is not exactly a word that they will remember at age 6. However, if you were to give this book to a fifth grade class they could definitely use it for a science project. Science mixed with adorable pictures, this book is sure to interest any age that you read it to. show less

Tomie de Paola gently guides readers through the MANY different types of clouds: cumulus, stratus, cirrus, and all the combinations and varieties thereof (there are ten in the index).

De Paola's rounded, cartoonish style is not best suited to scientific illustrations; for students studying weather, I'd pair this with a book (or other resource) that included photographs as well.

See also: Gail Gibbons, Weather Words and What They Mean

The cloud book by Tomie de Paola is a very short, sweet, and concise book about all the different types of clouds, their proper Latin names, their nicknames, and what type of weather they usually bring. The book also explores what clouds were thought to be in ancient times, as well as what certain folklore tells us about what type of weather can be expected when certain conditions are in sight.

I love this book. It is sweet, simple and educational without dumbing down the material. The illustrations are sweetly simple and inviting to the reader and the historical and informational bits at the end of the book are very interesting to readers of all ages! This is definitely going on my wish list for my son!

I would love to use this book in show more conjunction with a unit on weather. I could do art projects using different types of materials and allow the kids to pick out and create their clouds. They would have to be able to identify their cloud by proper name and recount what type of weather can be expected from such a cloud. Also, we could use the book in a language arts lesson to further explore the metaphors referenced at the end of the book. "Her head's in the clouds", and "He's in a fog" would be great jumping off points for a lesson on metaphors. show less

The Cloud Book by Tomie de Paola is a nonfiction book that takes on a unique approach to the sky, learning about the ten most common clouds, the myths that have been inspired by the different shapes, and how the clouds tell us about coming changes in the weather. This book is a great success because it has a skillful blend of fun and information about the different types of clouds. The illustrations are very kid friendly, and if a child struggles on some of the bigger words they can look at the pictures and automatically see what the word means. The pictures themselves can tell the story of the different types of clouds. This is a great book for children to use their imagination, and apply what they already know about clouds and even show more learn things they did not know before after reading this book. show less

This is a great little book to use for an introduction to clouds. dePaola's simple yet entertaining descriptions of different types of clouds hold the readers attention. His pictures are as always cute and fun.

I loved this book. It had very cute and good pictures along with very good examples. It was well written to inform the reders about the various types of clouds including what they look like and comparing them to every day objects students may see. I would recommend this book for any lower elementary classroom.