Having covered summer weather in Sun and Storms, Nicole Mortillaro has now turned her attention to winter for the second book in Scholastic’s Canada Close Up series.

This colourful little book is divided into six chapters that cover the background of Canada’s climate, and the nature of snow and rain, ice storms, blizzards, winter wonders, and extreme weather. The focus is on the dramatic, with the longest chapter being on blizzards.

Snow and Ice relies heavily on visuals, the best being a selection of excellent photos that range from cute kids making snow angels and historical shots of people walking on a frozen Niagara Falls to the devastation in Quebec and Ontario after the 1998 ice storm. Simple diagrams illustrate how the Earth’s tilt gives us seasons, where the jet streams are, and why we sometimes get rain and sometimes snow. However, the accompanying explanations don’t go into much detail.

The large-font text is enhanced by boxed weather facts, such as the size of the biggest snowflake (5 cm), and by sidebars on background details and useful tips on how to protect yourself from the cold and survive a blizzard.

Despite a brief glossary, Snow and Ice is not an elementary primer on weather or climate. The information is somewhat randomly presented and sometimes simplistic; for example, the paragraph describing the four seasons seems more appropriate for a preschool book.

Mortillaro is at her best when describing specific phenomena or events, such as the “perfect storm” of 1991, and there is much to attract young readers to this book. Perhaps it will encourage them to find out more.