Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Eyewitness: Natural Disasters
Nonfiction Series
For ages 10 and up
DK CHILDREN, 2006 ISBN: 0756620732
The planet Earth is a restless place. Frequently our lives are disrupted by natural disasters of all kinds. There are earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, landslides, avalanches, tornadoes, floods, and other events which cause hardship for countless numbers of people. Perhaps most frightening in this day and age is the worry about what climate change – global warming – is going to do to our planet and our futures.
In this fascinating book readers will discover why many of these disasters occur. They will learn that powerful forces beneath and across the Earth’s surface can suddenly unleash catastrophic events and at times humans have very little warning about what is going to happen. In addition the author explores in detail some of the more famous disasters of recent years including Hurricane Katrina and the December 26 2004 tsunami which caused widespread destruction in Asia.
Each double page spread includes a short well written section of text which is perfectly complimented by annotated photographs. Some of the pages also have informative diagrams and maps which will help readers understand some of the principles discussed in the text. For example in the “Landslides and Avalanches” pages readers will be able to see why and how a landslide forms. On the “Earth’s Atmosphere” pages readers are shown how the atmosphere is made up of layers and how winds racing across the surface of the globe carry weather types from one part of the globe to another.
This book is one of the titles in the much loved Eyewitness series and it will engage the interest if readers of all ages.
