THE SIERRA CLUB BOOK OF WEATHERWISDOM

This ``Complete Guide for Young Forecasters'' consists of a meandering description of weather and climate, together with experiments and activities to illustrate weather principles. McVey suggests that anyone can be ``weatherwise'': able to predict weather by paying attention to natural patterns and figuring out how they work. As examples, she briefly describes an Inca boy who bases his prediction of a rainy growing season on the size of Tacarari spider eggs; a boy in the Sahara who is alerted to a coming sirocco by the strange yellow of the sky; and an elderly Puerto Rican whose aching joints presage a hurricane. Unfortunately, there's little effort to explain how these ``natural observations'' are based in science. In addition, readers hear about ``Molly Molecule'' drifting to earth, then learn how to read a weather map and how to make a hydrometer, terrarium, and weather vane. A hodgepodge of facts, stories and activities, presented in a colloquial tone and adding up to a less-than-satisfying introduction to the topic. Glossary; index. (Nonfiction. 10-12)