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Rating: 
Summary: Earthquakes galore... facts a-few
Review: Children living in areas where natural disasters, such as earthquakes, do not occur may not fully understand the true destructive powers of this earth-shaking phenomenon. This book does its best to render earthquakes understandable. To do so, it incorporates full pages of color photographs of destroyed buildings and houses. Having been published in 1991 originally, the book may have originally served as an answer to those children wishing to know more about the notorious 1989 San Francisco quake. I myself was 11 at the time, and curious about this bizarre force of nature. This book does much to show a variety of different quakes from around the world, and its large graphs are very helpful as well. Yet something about the presentation is displeasing to the eye. Full page pictures have no border and seemingly slip off the page. They tend to show houses destroyed by quakes without giving much thought to showing the earthquake-resistant houses being built at the time. Also, there isn't a single footnote or credit at the end of the book. Seymour Simon is notorious for his steadfast refusal to cite his sources in his non-fiction books. There is no denying that this is an interesting topic. I especially liked the informative section in the back that tells the reader how best to survive an earthquake on their own. And this book would read well in class, though perhaps students should look at it personally themselves to better understand the graphs and maps included. However, I urge those wanting a complete earthquake source to search out better cited non-fiction books, if they can.
Rating:
Summary: Earthquakes galore... facts a-few
Review: Children living in areas where natural disasters, such as earthquakes, do not occur may not fully understand the true destructive powers of this earth-shaking phenomenon. This book does its best to render earthquakes understandable. To do so, it incorporates full pages of color photographs of destroyed buildings and houses. Having been published in 1991 originally, the book may have originally served as an answer to those children wishing to know more about the notorious 1989 San Francisco quake. I myself was 11 at the time, and curious about this bizarre force of nature. This book does much to show a variety of different quakes from around the world, and its large graphs are very helpful as well. Yet something about the presentation is displeasing to the eye. Full page pictures have no border and seemingly slip off the page. They tend to show houses destroyed by quakes without giving much thought to showing the earthquake-resistant houses being built at the time. Also, there isn't a single footnote or credit at the end of the book. Seymour Simon is notorious for his steadfast refusal to cite his sources in his non-fiction books. There is no denying that this is an interesting topic. I especially liked the informative section in the back that tells the reader how best to survive an earthquake on their own. And this book would read well in class, though perhaps students should look at it personally themselves to better understand the graphs and maps included. However, I urge those wanting a complete earthquake source to search out better cited non-fiction books, if they can.
Rating: 
Summary: Earthquake facts and pictures.
Review: Seymour Simon's 1991 book gives an excellent and terse overview of the important ideas about earthquakes. With key terms defined simply but accurately, all accentuated by large color photographic depictions of the effects of earthquakes, Simon explains the pertinent information: what causes earthquakes, what happens during an earthquake, and the different types of earthquakes.The book can be read from cover to cover, or bit by bit; each two-page spread stands fairly solidly on its own. The impact of the damage earthquakes can inflict is immediately apparent when the book opens with a stunning photograph of the way an earthquake turned "railroad tracks into twisted ribbons of steel." The most amazing photo in the book shows the way a wooden fence was "broken and offset eight feet" by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Simon takes what could be a very frightening concept for a young child and explains it in such a way as to make earthquakes more logical and less arbitrary. The final page of the book might be the best place for a nervous child to start reading, as Simon gives some suggestions of what to do during an earthquake. The book closes with the calming reassurance that the chances of being hurt in an earthquake are very slim. This book does not include a great deal of detail, but I think it does a good job of what it is intended to do: introduce a child to the subject of earthquakes. The photographs are my favorite part.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to understand information
Review: This is a very good beginning book on the subject for children. It begins with scientific information about how earthquakes occur, and then goes through what may happen during an earthquake, such as buildings falling down, fires, gas leaks, etc. It goes into further particulars, such as how it feels to be in an earthquake, and what safety measures to take. The illustrations are very simple, and not especially appealing, but they do help illustrate the points well. All in all, a good book for children ages 8 -12 who live in earthquake prone areas, especially.
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