This crystalline discussion of the major components of weather distills the interrelationships of these events into clear, simple explanations. Simon demonstrates again his mastery in joining handsome color photographs and essay text into a lucid and striking presentation.

Gr 4-7-As with Simon's previous titles on the individual planets (Morrow), this book is a perfect marriage of words and pictures. Each high-quality, full-color photograph or diagram is truly a work of art, suitable for framing. The large-print text, sometimes superimposed on the illustrations, is easy to read. Beginning with the general effects of the sun and the Earth's rotation, continuing with wind patterns, temperature, clouds, and precipitation, and concluding with smog and the greenhouse effect, the author lucidly discusses all of the terms and elements that constitute tropospheric weather. Instruments and the possible affects of human activity on the atmosphere are touched upon. Unfortunately, the full-page diagrams that demonstrate the way the sun warms the Earth and the speed of its rotation do not clearly explain those phenomena. Gail Gibbons's Weather Words and What They Mean (Holiday, 1990) covers much of the same information, but has a cartoon format. Martyn Bramwell's Weather (Watts, 1988; o.p.) is for older readers.-Meryl Silverstein, American Museum of Natural History, New York City