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Volcano!

by Cynthia Pratt Nicolson

Volcano! recounts the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, then highlights volcanic sites around the world, from the “cinder cones” of Iceland and flat “shield volcanoes” of Hawaii, to the killer mud-floods of Colombia and preserved remains of Pompeii, showing their variety and devastation. Alongside real-life examples are explanations of how volcanoes form and how volcanologists conduct their dangerous research. Suggested activities encourage readers to mimic volcanic activity, on a much smaller scale.

Volcano!’s clever newspaper-style design with front-page disaster headlines is perfect for this subject matter. Hand-drawn illustrations (some by Bill Slavin) enhance the sidebars and activity boxes but never overwhelm the real stars – the photographs – that show surreal volcanic landscapes more effectively than paintings could have done. Particularly striking are the photos of molten lava shooting skyward toward an emergency helicopter, and a sludgy lake of glowing lava oozing across a farmer’s field.

Pratt Nicolson (author of The Stars and The Planets) combines dramatic narrative and scientific exposition with kid-friendly language (“the [tectonic] plates move very slowly – at about the speed your fingernails grow”). Terms like “pyroclastic flow” are explained clearly and succinctly in context as well as in the glossary. As each section flows logically into the next, a bigger picture forms: that volcanoes are dangerous, but as scientists learn to predict their eruptions, many lives can be saved.

A small flaw in this otherwise excellent book is the mention without follow-up of a volcano-prone subduction zone on Canada’s west coast, which may lead readers to wonder: are any of our Canadian peaks about to blow?

 

Reviewer: Wendy A. Lewis

Publisher: Kids Can Press

DETAILS

Price: $14.95

Page Count: 32 pp

Format: Cloth

ISBN: 1-55074-908-0

Released: Sept.

Issue Date: 2001-8

Categories:

Age Range: ages 7-12

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