Weather is a perfect topic for a poem! It can be dramatic and exciting, or peaceful and calm. Weather can change in an instant and affects our emotional state. There is no better way to celebrate the natural wonder and mysterious ways of Mother Nature with weather poems!
We've collected some of our favorite poetry books with poems about rain, sunshine, thunderstorms, lighting, snow, and other weather events, as well as some classic weather-inspired poems you can print out to share with kids.
Lastly, don't forget to enjoy reciting traditional weather nursery rhymes to babies and toddlers!
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Weather Poetry Books
These weather poetry books feature different poetic forms like haiku, free verse, rhyming couplets, and more. When studying weather patterns and reading these poems, kids will enjoy tracking their local weather with this weather tracking science experiment.
Rain by Anders Holmer
This unique collection of short poems translated from Swedish do not strictly follow the rules of haiku. Precipitation in all its forms provide the narrative through-line for scenes that cross cultural boundaries. Exquisite.
Zap! Clap! Boom! The Story of a Thunderstorm by Laura Purdie Salas, illustrated by Elly MacKay
I love how Salas takes readers on the journey of a thunderstorm with illustrations to match. Three children watch as the thunderstorm forms, approaches, drenches the landscape, and recedes. Back matter goes into further detail about the atmospheric phenomena.
Ice Cycle: Poems about the Life of Ice by Maria Gianferrari, illustrated by Jieting Chen
Ice is nice! Using free verse, Gianferrari introduces readers to amazing facts about ice. You never knew there was so much to learn about frozen water! Extensive back matter includes suggestions for ice science experiments as well as further reading.
Weather: Poems for All Seasons, edited by Lee Bennet Hopkins, illustrated by Melanie Hall
I love easy reader collections of poems because they get kids starting to read great poetry early on in their reading career! But don't limit this book to early readers, the poems included are great to read aloud. Famed poet, Lee Bennet Hopkins, has curated an excellent selection of weather poems that are–dare I say it?–exciting!
One Big Rain: Poems for Rainy Days, compiled by Rita Gray, illustrated by Ryan O'Rourke
This is a splendid collection of weather-inspired poems. Featured poets like R. Olivares Figueroa, Issa and Robert Frost come from all corners of the globe. The poems are organized by season and take readers on a tour of weather throughout the year.
Make Things Fly: Poems About The Wind, edited by Dorothy M. Kennedy, illustrated by Sasha Meret
Find it: Your Library | Amazon
Few things in nature are as variable as the wind! It might be welcome on a hot summer day, or feared on a snowy winter night. These twenty seven poems imagine the entire range of wind's mighty force.
MORE: Animal Poems for Kids
Classic Weather Poems for Young People
Modern poems are excellent when you want to start fostering a love of poetry in children, but there are plenty of child-friendly classic poems about weather, too!
To make it easy on you, grab the printable of our favorite classic weather poems that are in the public domain. As a bonus, the printable also includes traditional weather nursery rhymes and the weather poetry book list.
Classic weather poems included on the pdf:
- Song from Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
- "Rain Fugue" by Jessie Redmon Fauset
- "Who Has Seen the Wind" by Christina Rossetti
- "2060" by U Tak
- "Fog" by Carl Sandberg
SEASONAL POETRY:
- Spring poems for kids and families
- Summer poems and poetry books
- Winter poems to keep you warm in stormy weather
- Autumn poems for a crisp, cool day
Weather Nursery Rhymes
Who can resist a good nursery rhyme? Repetition and rhyme support early literacy skills, build phonological awareness and are just plain fun! Be sure to make this weather wheel craft, perfect for toddlers and preschoolers to learn about the weather.
This first weather nursery rhyme is also a bit of a tongue twister.
Whether the weather be fine,
Or whether the weather be not,
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!
This classic English nursery rhyme reminds children that weather affects wildlife!
The North wind doth blow,
And we shall have snow,
And what will poor robin do then, poor thing?
He'll sit in a barn,
And keep himself warm,
And hide his head under his wing, poor thing.
And who could forget the most famous weather nursery rhyme of them all!
It's raining, it's pouring,
The old man is snoring,
He bumped his head and went to bed,
And couldn't get up in the morning.
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