Great Gusts: Winds of the World and the Science Behind Them

Great Gusts offers a unique and engaging exploration of fourteen distinct winds from across the globe, such as Italy's maestro and Japan's oroshi. Authors Melanie Crowder and Megan Benedict combine diverse poetic forms, like haiku and iambs, with clear scientific explanations of how each wind forms and its meteorological impact. Award-winning illustrator Khoa Le's airy art, enhanced with scientifically accurate wind lines, transports readers to each location. The book includes rich back matter with details on wind origins, naming conventions, a world map, a glossary, and further reading, making it a comprehensive and beautiful resource for children aged 4-11. It's perfect for sparking curiosity about weather, geography, and the art of poetry.

From Antarctica’s biting katabatic gusts to Hawai‘i’s sweet-smelling moani, discover fourteen winds of the world through poetry, scientific facts, and transporting illustrations. Lift your face to the breeze— let it bathe your cheeks sift through your hair tease your fingertips. In a dynamic collection of poems, Melanie Crowder and Megan Benedict explore the world’s winds, from Italy’s swaggering maestro to Libya’s fierce ghibli to Canada’s howling squamish. The poetic styles used reflect the characteristics and sometimes the location of each wind: Japan’s blustery oroshi is celebrated in haiku, for example, while the poem about Britain’s helm uses iambs in a nod toward the iambic pentameter of English sonnets. Sidebars relay the science behind how each wind forms, where it blows, and the weather systems it heralds, and the airy art from award-winning illustrator Khoa Le is overlaid with scientifically accurate wind lines that show the path of each gust. More meteorological details can be found in the back matter, which includes explorations of the origin of wind and how winds are named, a world map pinning the winds’ locations, a glossary, and books for further reading.