Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Volcanoes: Witness to Disaster
Nonfiction
For ages 8 to 11
National Geographic, 2007 ISBN: 978-0792253761
Though there had been a lot of earthquakes shaking the ground in the area for some days Dionisio Pulido, his hired man, and his wife went to Dionisio's corn field on February 20th, 1943 to work as usual. Suddenly, at around 4:30 in the afternoon the ground split open and the three people became terrified witnesses to what few people ever dream of seeing - they saw the birth of a volcano.
By the next morning a mound that was thirty feet high was piled around the hole in the ground and later that day lava began to pour out of the new volcano. It wasn't long before scientists began to arrive on the scene to observe and record the fascinating phenomenon.
This is just one of the many personal accounts that readers get to read about in this fascinating book. The accounts, with quotes from people who witnessed the eruptions, are found throughout the text. The main body of the text provides readers with a fascinating look at volcanoes. How do they form, what forces drives them, what forms can they take, how do they harm humanity, how do they benefit humanity, what were some of the more famous eruptions, and much more.
Stunning photographs can be found throughout the book and the witness accounts and quotes are particularly poignant and thought-provoking as they reach out to us from the past.
