Erupting Volcanoes! KABOOM!!

I’m sure many of you have put out books about volcanoes and other natural disasters lately due to the recent volcanic explosion in Iceland.  You might also think of displaying books about airplanes since so much of the news has been about the effect of the ash on air travel.

If you want to share amazing photos illustrating the enormity of the eruption’s effect on people, animals, and the land, check out The Boston Globe’s article “More from Eyjafjallajokull.” Thirty-five photographs that show both the beauty and the power of Mother Nature.  Perhaps you could project the pictures or have them on a computer where students can scroll through after your storytime or at their convenience in middle school.

Here are a few books relating to volcanoes specifically as well as natural disasters, geology, and our powerful planet.

• Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount St. Helens by Patricia Lauber
• Volcano Wakes Up! by Lisa Westburg Peters
• Into the Volcano: A Volcano Researcher at Work by Donna Donovan-O’Meara
• Into the Volcano: A Graphic Novel by Don Wood (fiction)
• Dangerous Planet: Natural Disasters that Changed History by Bryn Barnard
• America’s Great Disasters by Martin W. Sandler
• Earthshake: Poems from the Ground Up by Lisa Westburg Peters
• Seymour Simon presents Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Iceburgs and Glaciers, Storms, and more… Use these photo-centric titles for their visuals.

My inspiration for this list began with the photos in the article above as well as my go-to source for titles on every topic under the sun… Planet Esme.  The link will take you to an archived list of her non-fiction faves.

Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com.