Volcano: Eruption and Healing of Mt. St Helen's

When my daughter's daycare class started exploring volcanoes last fall I really wanted to get a good book on volcanoes to help me explain them to her well. This book was one of the most recommended books on the subject that amazon carried so it was a natural choice. That it explores the devastation wrought by Mt. St. Helens' 1980 eruption was all the better since we had just visited the area a couple months before.Well, instead of the book going to the daycare for sharing it's stayed home as a bedtime book. I typically just sort of narrate the very good images in the book and when she asks a question I refer to the text around that image for more information.The book has fantastic photos of the area (rivers, lakes, trees standing and just utterly blasted away, as well as plants and animals returning to the area) before and after the eruption. There is no photo capturing any human or animal suffering but the billowing ash and smoke was enough to worry my 5-year-old a bit - she certainly understood what those pictures meant.The text is, in some ways, even better than the photos because it provides a great deal of introductory terms from geology and other physical sciences without being too boring or too difficult for a parent to supplement on the fly."Volcano" is an excellent way to explain what volcanoes are and what they can do as well as how the earth is resilient, continually changing, and perhaps can appear serene and whole when just a few short years ago (even within my daughter's father's lifetime!!) the land looked barren and gray.

If you are interested in volcanoes, this book is a MUST. Could motivate those disengaged readers also. Obscure info about Mt. St. Helens which is pretty cool. Always looking for books to motivate struggling readers. Finding non-fiction text is even better! That is the materials kids continue to enjoy but find much more difficult to understand.

I used this book in my sixth grade language arts class because of its imagery although it is nonfiction. It appealed to both boys and girls. It would help high school readers, but is probably too difficult for elementary. I loved the imagery. Even though it was challenging, I kept two copies in my classroom library. The graphics were appealing to even the reluctant readers, and the charts helped them prepare for the state mandated assessments.

Purchased for school

My grandson visited Mt St Helens and became very curious about it. Thus this book made sense for his birthday. I'd give it the highest rating except that I did not actually see or read it. My son tells me his son enjoyed it.

I got this for my 8 year old Grandson but found myself totally engrossed in it when I read it. So informative, and breaks down the dynamics of volcanos in a way that readers of all ages can understand. Love it!

This book is a classic. Patricia Lauber has managed to successfully communicate a lot of scientific information, with great transitions that I think are perfect for kids. I recommend this title to anyone.

So much detail in this book - it really got my daughter excited to read and learn more about the subject.