Close to the Wind: The Beaufort Scale

In 1810, a British naval officer and surveyor named Francis Beaufort developed a scale to give sailors a common language for describing the wind. From 0 (calm) to 12 (hurricane), stunning artwork and jaunty prose show what life at sea must have been like for a young boy serving as a midshipman in the 1800s. As William sails from Naples to the Caribbean, we learn intriguing historical information and nautical terminology, and witness how the wind affected day-to-day life on a ship. Detailed illustrations show the wind at work, and readers will be engrossed and fascinated as they watch the storm develop in magnificent full-color paintings.

• Author
• Peter Malone

• Format
• hardcover

• Pages
• 32

• Publisher
• Putnam Juvenile

• Language
• english

• ISBN
• 9780399243998

• Genres
• science, childrens

• Release date
• 2007