Get Ready for A Change! The Reason for the Seasons by Ellie Peterson

THE SEASONS!

I BET YOU KNOW ALL ABOUT THEM! YOU MAY EVEN HAVE A FAVORITE!

Fine! Maybe you love summer best, with shorts and sandals and swimming and sleeping late. But no matter how much fun it is, it doesn't last all year. So why DO we have seasons?

Meet Joulia Copernicus, the third grade science sage!

But first, Joulia has to explains a few things that seem obvious but aren't exactly true. We know that on earth heat comes from our sun, so we must be closer to the sun in summer, right? No!

THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE IS ACTUALLY CLOSER TO THE SUN IN JANUARY!

So is it the fact that the earth rotates? No!

ROTATION IS ACTUALLY THE CAUSE OF DAY AND NIGHT!

SO WHAT IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASONS?

Joulia says it's the....

TILT OF THE EARTH ON ITS AXIS!

That happened when a meteor collided with Earth and knocked it a bit cattywampus! But Joulia says not to worry. That happened long, long ago when our planet was just forming.

The angle of the sun's rays determine how strong the light is and how much heat is released when that light strikes a surface--like your garden or you in your bathing suit! The greater the angle, the less light and heat is delivered to any one point. Check it out! Compare how long your shadow is at noon during all four seasons!

With author Ellie Peterson's cute and knowledgeable science sleuth, Joulia Copernicus, in her crisp white lab coat, kids will soon feel quite at home with the reasons for seasonal changes, in her latest, The Reason for the Seasons (A Joulia Copernicus Book). Demonstrated by author-illustrator Peterson's humorous cartoon character with her trusty flashlight, the author explains such effects as the summer Midnight Sun in the polar regions, as well as Joulia and her polar bear pal foraging for food by the light in the fridge during the two months of arctic darkness, and slips in information about those semi-seasons--the dry season and rainy season, the growing season, and the harvest season. Along with this winsome instructor, Joulia Copernicus, the author-illustrator also provides plenty of diagrams that make the sun's effects on our planet visible and understandable.

Says Kirkus Reviews, "A breezy, information-packed, visually attractive explanation of an important elementary school science topic."

Pair this one with its companion Joulia Copernicus book, Peterson's It's a Round, Round World!