Whether the weather be cold
Or whether the weather be hot,
We’ll weather the weather,
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not!

I found a genius little picture book that has weather in the title but would be perfect to kick off discussions and research far beyond weather. If Frogs Made the Weather is a colorfully illustrated book that at first glance would appeal to younger readers. But wait, there’s more! Each animal presented in the book is shown in an environment it would prefer allowing readers to think about everything from biomes to food chains, weather to rhymes, and of course, ART.   If you are looking for a hook for introducing biomes or animal research this is a great pick. I also love the Salamander Room for these reasons, but it focuses on only one animal instead of the may feature in If Frogs Made Weather.

After reading, students chose to illustrate animals and their preferred weather or to create a short video about their animal. The animals were randomly assigned by library staff and some students wanted to research before creating their response.  This was a short lesson in the library but has so much more potential if used in a classroom with opportunity for students to seek research and create.