At the Mercy of Mother Nature

Volcanoes have been making the news lately with the Big Island of Hawaii and Guatemala reeling from the devastation caused by recent eruptions and a skeleton found underneath a large rock in Pompeii that had been jarred loose when Mount Vesuvius let loose in 79 A.D. Geology rocks! (Pun intended.)

Because erupting volcanoes can be such a dramatic and, sometimes, traumatic event, it can capture the imagination especially for young readers.  There are a number of books that I recommend to support this interest and learning for a budding geologist.

Here are a few of my top picks:

An Island Grows by Lola M Schaefer

A picture book for the primary grades that shows how an underwater volcanic eruption can be the starting block of new land mass being created. Over a long period of time, this mass of rock will result in new land being formed that will eventually allow life to take hold and begin to flourish. Told in rhyme with very few words it captures the dynamic nature of Earth and that things are changing all the time.  The concept of ‘geological time’ may be difficult grasp from this book as this process is not a quick process.

The next two books I recommend are from the Scientists in the Field series.  I love this series. It is fantastic and I highly recommend it.

The first one is Life on Surtsey: Iceland’s Upstart Island by Loree Griffins Burn. It is perfect for middle grades to see how new land off the coast of Iceland is being ‘colonized’ by plants and animals.  This has become an opportunity for scientists to observe this process as it happens in front of them.

The second book is Eruption!: Volcanoes and the Science of Saving Lives by Elizabeth Rusch.  This books looks at how scientists are able to prevent loss of life for populations living near active volcanoes around the world. Science is a critical tool for predicting when a volcano will erupt to give people enough notice to evacuate regions that will be hit with ash, lava, gases and related earthquakes.

Into the Volcano: a Volcano Researcher at Work by Donna O’Meara conveys the passion that volcanoes can ignite (no pun intended, here) in people.  O’Meara’s life work is tracking volcanos around the world to study and understand them better and to help people who live in the vicinity of active volcanoes.  As she describes her adventures, studying volcanoes, we learn a lot about all facets of volcanoes along the way. Student in middle grades will find this book appealing.

Another series that explores many different fields of science is the Max Axiom, Super Scientist Graphic Science series.  Using a comic book format, The Explosive World of Volcanoes with Max Axiom by Christopher Harbo, illustrated by Tod Smith will appeal to elementary level students for a basic introduction to the different kinds of volcanoes and their characteristics.

Some of the interest about volcanoes has come from scientists looking at historical eruptions and the impact they had on people.  The book, Bodies From the Ash: Life and Death in Ancient Pompeii by James M. Deem shows us what Pompeii the city looked like before 79 A.D., the eruption and then lots of pictures of the casts that were made of the people who died there. There is a morbid fascination with these images as we see who died and we are left to wonder about them as well. I recommend this for grades 7 & up.

My last recommendation is The Day the World Exploded: the Earthshaking Catastrophe at Krakatoa by Simon Winchester. This book is an adaptation of Winchester’s adult book, Krakatoa. This renown explosion took place in 1883 in the Sunda Strait, between the islands of Java and Sumatra. This volcanic eruption and the after effects were felt around the world, killing thousands of people. I would recommend this fascinating book for students, grade 7 and up.

Inspirational Photos Instilling Wonder While Teaching

In looking closely at the three books I’m blogging about today, I realized that there was a connection between them going beyond the fact that these are all coffee table books filled with beautiful photographs. The connection is that these beautiful books engage our imaginations, opening up the worlds they present to us, provoking questions, instilling wonder and informing us, along the way.

First up is a book published by National Geographic, Stunning Photographs compiled by Annie Griffiths. As soon as I mention National Geographic, you’re assured that this book will not disappoint. Divided into six sections, Mystery, Harmony, Wit, Discovery, Energy and Intimacy, the photos in each embody some sense of the section’s title. I especially enjoyed the section, Wit as there was a great deal of humour and playful tweaking of our perceptions in these pictures. Really lots of fun. There are hundreds of pictures in this book, created from every corner of the world, I’m sure, and that will amaze viewers of any age.

My next recommendation is, Microsculpture: Portraits of Insects by Levon Biss.  I adore macro photography and this book is fantastic. Using preserved insect specimens from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History collection, Biss takes thousands of pictures of each insect and its parts and then reconstitutes them to give the viewer an amazing close-up. We get to see every pockmark, scale, whisker, hair, and ridge, plus an array of beautiful colours and shapes of 36 insects from various parts of the world. Each insect is given a short descriptive paragraph often discussing some weird feature and the importance of this particular adaptation. There are some amazingly bizarre looking creatures out there. When thinking about the number of science fiction and fantasy movies  that incorporate ‘out-of-this-world’ looking creatures, designers need go no further than Earth’s own insect population for inspiration.

My last selection is Through Darkness to Light: Photographs Along the Underground Railroad by Jeanine Michna-Bales. This photographer recreated a 1400-mile journey, from Louisiana to Ontario that slaves may have taken when trying to escape to freedom. Based on her research, she went looking to document some of the areas that slaves and sometimes, those helping slaves escape, would have passed through but also convey the sense of what it might have been like traveling, mostly at night, through unknown landscapes, living in fear of being recaptured.  The photographs are not necessarily the most interesting as they’re often murky and show deeply shadowed forests, meadows, and wetlands. But taken in context of a fugitive running for their life, the book does convey the danger, fear, and beauty that might have been experienced. The accompanying essays also provide a lot of interesting information about the Underground Railroad. This book will be most effective in the classroom that is already studying American slavery and the Underground Railroad and would be an interesting companion book to novels such as Underground to Canada by Barbara Smucker, Crossing to Freedom by Virginia Frances Schwartz, and A Desperate Road to Freedom by Karleen Bradford.

I recommend all three of these books for all ages.