When the weather becomes extreme or even unseasonal, "El Nino" is usually the phrase we hear. Every three to seven years, El Nino disrupts weather all over the globe, second only to the change of seasons in its influence on the climate. But what is El Nino? El Nino is the name given to the unusual increase in ocean temperatures along the Peruvian and the Ecuadorian coasts that is part of a larger pattern of changes in wind and weather throughout the world. With El Nino come violent storms and upsets in global food chain that dramatically affect both humans and wildlife. Effects can be as gentle as a mild winter in northeastern United States or as violent as drought in Southeast Asia, brutal storms in South America, and wildfires in Australia. With the help of carefully selected photographs and clarifying charts and maps, Caroline Arnold makes clear how this remarkable weather pattern forms, how scientists track it, what its effects are, and why following its path is of such importance.
Caroline Arnold is the author of more than 100 books for children. She writes both fiction and nonfiction and recently has illustrated some of her books with striking cut paper art. To see prints and cards of her illustrations, go to www.etsy.com/shop/CarolineArnoldArt. Recent nonfiction titles include A Polar Bear's World, A Bald Eagle's World, Global Warming and the Dinosaurs, A Panda's World, Giant Sea Reptiles of the Dinosaur Age, Super Swimmers, and Easter Island. Her recent fiction books include Wiggle and Waggle, a collection of five stories for beginning readers, and The Terrible Hodag and the Animal Catchers, a tall tale.
Her books have received awards from the American Library Association, the National Science Teachers Association, P.E.N., and SCBWI. Recently she received the Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award for her body of work, the Leo Politi Award from California Readers, and from the Children's Literature Council of Southern California, the Best Written and Illustrated Suite of Nonfiction for children.
Caroline's interest in animals and the out-of-doors began when she was a child growing up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After majoring in art and literature at Grinnell College in Iowa, she received her M.A. in art from the University of Iowa. Some of her new books are illustrated with her own art. Caroline lives in Los Angeles and teaches part-time in the Writer's Program at UCLA Extension.
