When Cloud Became a Cloud

PreS-Gr 2--A delightful illustrated depiction of the water cycle. Hodgson begins with a sun--"Hot stuff"--over a lake, and Cloud is created through the droplets that float from the lake to the sky. Cloud goes through a metamorphosis in every chapter, incorporating breezy lessons on fog, rainbows, storm systems, snow, and rain. For example, Wind befriends Cloud and blows him around the sky. Sun and Wind work together to blow Cloud through cities, mountains, and countryside. Cloud is blown into a very cold place that allows some of its water droplets to freeze and become snowflakes that fall from the sky to the ground. Wind continues to blow Cloud into cold regions. Cloud becomes fascinated with the water droplets down in the snow and floats down to see them. Cloud goes so low that it generates fog. Cloud makes friends with other clouds, and is awestruck when Sun shines light through droplets after a storm to create a rainbow. The book is divided into easy chapters that invite closer inspection of smiling raindrops and other friendly elements. The science is serious, the explanations cheerful, and children will come away with a fairly extensive understanding of how clouds become clouds. VERDICT A simplified but terrific tale, perfect for beginning readers or anyone seeking an exciting and funny science story.--Annmarie Braithwaite, New York P.L.