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Clouds
Cirrus, stratus, and cumulus-simple text explains how clouds are formed and how they benefit us in this delightful book.
32 pages, Paperback
First published February 24, 2004
About the author
Marion Dane Bauer
181 books185 followersMarion Dane Bauer is the author of more than one hundred books for young people, ranging from novelty and picture books through early readers, both fiction and nonfiction, books on writing, and middle-grade and young-adult novels. She has won numerous awards, including several Minnesota Book Awards, a Jane Addams Peace Association Award for RAIN OF FIRE, an American Library Association Newbery Honor Award for ON MY HONOR, a number of state children's choice awards and the Kerlan Award from the University of Minnesota for the body of her work.
She is also the editor of and a contributor to the ground-breaking collection of gay and lesbian short stories, Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence.
Marion was one of the founding faculty and the first Faculty Chair for the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her writing guide, the American Library Association Notable WHAT'S YOUR STORY? A YOUNG PERSON'S GUIDE TO WRITING FICTION, is used by writers of all ages. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen different languages.
She has six grandchildren and lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with her partner and a cavalier King Charles spaniel, Dawn.
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INTERVIEW WITH MARION DANE BAUER
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Q. What brought you to a career as a writer?
A. I seem to have been born with my head full of stories. For almost as far back as I can remember, I used most of my unoccupied moments--even in school when I was supposed to be doing other "more important" things--to make up stories in my head. I sometimes got a notation on my report card that said, "Marion dreams." It was not a compliment. But while the stories I wove occupied my mind in a very satisfying way, they were so complex that I never thought of trying to write them down. I wouldn't have known where to begin. So though I did all kinds of writing through my teen and early adult years--letters, journals, essays, poetry--I didn't begin to gather the craft I needed to write stories until I was in my early thirties. That was also when my last excuse for not taking the time to sit down to do the writing I'd so long wanted to do started first grade.
Q. And why write for young people?
A. Because I get my creative energy in examining young lives, young issues. Most people, when they enter adulthood, leave childhood behind, by which I mean that they forget most of what they know about themselves as children. Of course, the ghosts of childhood still inhabit them, but they deal with them in other forms--problems with parental authority turn into problems with bosses, for instance--and don't keep reaching back to the original source to try to fix it, to make everything come out differently than it did the first time. Most children's writers, I suspect, are fixers. We return, again and again, usually under the cover of made-up characters, to work things through. I don't know that our childhoods are necessarily more painful than most. Every childhood has pain it, because life has pain in it at every stage. The difference is that we are compelled to keep returning to the source.
Q. You write for a wide range of ages. Do you write from a different place in writing for preschoolers than for young adolescents?
A. In a picture book or board book, I'm always writing from the womb of the family, a place that--while it might be intruded upon by fears, for instance--is still, ultimately, safe and nurturing. That's what my own early childhood was like, so it's easy for me to return to those feelings and to recreate them.
When I write for older readers, I'm writing from a very different experience. My early adolescence, especially, was a time of deep alienation, mostly from my peers but in some ways from my family as well. And so I write my older stories out of that pain, that longing for connection. A story has to have a problem at its core. No struggle
She is also the editor of and a contributor to the ground-breaking collection of gay and lesbian short stories, Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence.
Marion was one of the founding faculty and the first Faculty Chair for the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her writing guide, the American Library Association Notable WHAT'S YOUR STORY? A YOUNG PERSON'S GUIDE TO WRITING FICTION, is used by writers of all ages. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen different languages.
She has six grandchildren and lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with her partner and a cavalier King Charles spaniel, Dawn.
-------------------------------------
INTERVIEW WITH MARION DANE BAUER
-------------------------------------
Q. What brought you to a career as a writer?
A. I seem to have been born with my head full of stories. For almost as far back as I can remember, I used most of my unoccupied moments--even in school when I was supposed to be doing other "more important" things--to make up stories in my head. I sometimes got a notation on my report card that said, "Marion dreams." It was not a compliment. But while the stories I wove occupied my mind in a very satisfying way, they were so complex that I never thought of trying to write them down. I wouldn't have known where to begin. So though I did all kinds of writing through my teen and early adult years--letters, journals, essays, poetry--I didn't begin to gather the craft I needed to write stories until I was in my early thirties. That was also when my last excuse for not taking the time to sit down to do the writing I'd so long wanted to do started first grade.
Q. And why write for young people?
A. Because I get my creative energy in examining young lives, young issues. Most people, when they enter adulthood, leave childhood behind, by which I mean that they forget most of what they know about themselves as children. Of course, the ghosts of childhood still inhabit them, but they deal with them in other forms--problems with parental authority turn into problems with bosses, for instance--and don't keep reaching back to the original source to try to fix it, to make everything come out differently than it did the first time. Most children's writers, I suspect, are fixers. We return, again and again, usually under the cover of made-up characters, to work things through. I don't know that our childhoods are necessarily more painful than most. Every childhood has pain it, because life has pain in it at every stage. The difference is that we are compelled to keep returning to the source.
Q. You write for a wide range of ages. Do you write from a different place in writing for preschoolers than for young adolescents?
A. In a picture book or board book, I'm always writing from the womb of the family, a place that--while it might be intruded upon by fears, for instance--is still, ultimately, safe and nurturing. That's what my own early childhood was like, so it's easy for me to return to those feelings and to recreate them.
When I write for older readers, I'm writing from a very different experience. My early adolescence, especially, was a time of deep alienation, mostly from my peers but in some ways from my family as well. And so I write my older stories out of that pain, that longing for connection. A story has to have a problem at its core. No struggle
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
March 22, 2018
An approachable early reader and explanation about clouds. Miss 3 really liked 'Rain' so we're working our way through the series. I liked 'Rain' better, I think the explanations and flow was a bit better. Still this has had us sitting out in the yard looking for wispy clouds and marshmellow clouds etc. We watched some kids videos on YouTube as well. I kind of wanted better pictures to differentiate between stratus and cumulus clouds (but looking at more detailed diagrams I think that's just because this was a very simple book and the reality is more complex; i.e. it doesn't go into stratus-cumulus or cumulus-nimbus etc.)
March 16, 2022
It's so important to start teaching science techniques to children when they are young. That way they learn about the world around them but also helps them feel a connection at a young age. This book is about clouds and it's so cute. I do wish this book had picture of actual clouds rather then illustrations. But this is a cute book and Cassie really enjoyed it. I loved how the information in this book are simple for young kids to understand. I also like how the text is simple that new readers can read on their own as well. It's a great book to start teaching kids about non-fiction books but also about clouds. I highly recommend you check it out.
January 16, 2023
Clouds come in many different shapes and sizes. They can be white and fluffy or dark and scary. But where do clouds come from? The answer is at your finger tips. Just open this book and read about the wonders of clouds...
February 8, 2018
deceptively simple with lots of good information. it is age appropriate.
February 18, 2022
A very easy to read non-fiction picture book about clouds.
April 25, 2022
Simple reader that surprisingly contains quite a bit of information.
October 3, 2022
Great job! This book makes clouds understandable even to little children. Super readable. Great pictures. Fun facts at the end.
November 7, 2023
We read this in one sitting. Great nonfiction option for kindergarten kids who want to learn more about clouds.
March 30, 2024
This book teaches about clouds really well and has pretty illustrations.
February 18, 2025
Toddler, preschool, and school-age
February 3, 2017
I am learning that writing a good Level One easy reader is a challenge or so it would seem from the dismay selection generally available. Therefore, when I stumble upon a great one I feel the intense need to jump up and clap so of course I must share. CLOUDS is good. It is a solid non-fiction book about clouds written in the brief, easy to read text that it's young reader requires. Bauer covers the three basic kinds of cloud types in this short book while providing clear examples and creative explanations that aptly describe the science of clouds. For young, ever curious readers, this type of easy reader is rare and wonderful.
March 9, 2011
I thought this was the greatest book to introduce clouds. It would be a good book to allow students to make great connections to the world and to self. This is an informative book but also a fun read and it would be great to read during the colder months when they can see their breath. Cute book to read outside with the students!
January 28, 2015
This book was a very easy read and laid out the more popular cloud formations very simply. This is a great book to use for the younger and even mid elementary aged school students in a unit about weather. The illustrations matched what the words were allowing the reader to visualize things easier. Very good read
April 24, 2013
A cloud is puffy. This books is called Clouds. There are different kinds of clouds. There are dark clouds and light clouds. Clouds have different shapes and colors. You can check this out at the school library. You should read this books! By Gillian
January 28, 2010
Part of a series by the author on weather, this one looks at how clouds are formed with a nice story and cute illustrations.
April 8, 2011
This is a very educational book about clouds. I would use this book to teach grades 1-3 about clouds during a science lesson. It is an easy read with great pictures.
June 27, 2011
This is a good book on clouds. Perfect for the young learner (being read to) and level 2 readers (independent reading).
July 25, 2011
MCL. It was pretty interesting.
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June 5, 20134 copies.
June 15, 2016
megan spring reading 2016, children's book, leveled reader, easy reader, level three, clouds, science, informational, first grade
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2018
Genre: Informational
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews