Earthshattering Events! The Science Behind Natural Disasters

Sophie Williams, Robin Jacobs Press Reviews

The AOI REVIEW: Robin Jacobs and Sophie Williams have taken naturally occurring disasters from around the world and broken them down to the how, where and why, making them understandable and engaging even for those initially left lukewarm by the topic. Those children who start reading are going to find themselves engrossed in the fault-patterns in tectonic plates, all laid out by Williams' deliberately naive and colourful illustrations that make each and every page larger-than-life. Drawn in a style designed to be understandable to children and adults alike, the diagrams and cartoons are clear and accessible, illustrating everything from Caribbean gods to the formation of supercell storms. Most importantly of all Williams' use of fun as a tool for learning makes this a valuable way of teaching by stealth. Williams' diagrams make scientific cross-sections much more comprehensible for young geographers.If the idea of giving a child a book on disasters feels in some way wrong, it's also filled with some very useful information, written with humour by Jacobs. Reinforcing information early and often is an excellent way of ensuring people know what to do in an emergency, and Earth Shattering Events! has examples of what to do in each section. Earth Shattering Events! is one of those books that perfectly balances both the needs of the child, and the wants of the adult; it's fun, educational and equally entertaining to people big and small. As our world changes around us, understanding the events out of our control happening around us is increasingly important, and yet still overlooked.

READING ZONE (SCHOOL ZONE) REVIEW: The pages have clear, cartoon-like diagrams that illustrate the content in a non-threatening way. Some of the content is quite heavy, but this book is a very matter of fact and informative. Each page is eye-catching and laid out so that it's easy to read. I'd suggest that these books are read with an adult initially, to answer any questions or worries that children may have due to the subject of this book. For use in schools, it is a great example of a non-fiction piece of text and is a great support for elements of Key Stage 2 Geography and History.

THE LITERACY TREE REVIEW: This brilliant book around natural phenomena - sometimes causing natural disasters on mass-scale is fascinating and slightly sobering in equal measures: the geography and physics of tsunamis, volcanoes, blizzards, earthquakes and a whole plethora of other ways that mother nature will, from time-to-time, show who's boss are all covered. This is such a brilliantly written and illustrated book that we feel fits so well within our year 3 Literary Curriculum theme of Pride and Downfall that we've turned it into a Literary Leaf which will be available to subscribing schools in early January.

BOOKS FOR TOPICS REVIEW: We often get asked about books to support the 'Awesome Earth' or 'Natural Disasters' topics for KS2 and we think we may have just found the perfect one. Each event is explained in a way that is easy to understand for junior children without compromising on presenting the underlying scientific facts. A real strength of the book is how highly visual it is, with appealing diagrams, large illustrations, maps and charts contributing greatly to the reader's understanding of each topic. This is a wonderful book with a high level of appeal and certainly one to recommend for KS2 classrooms as a topic book or a really interesting read for pleasure.

BOOKTRUST REVIEW: *Book of the Day* Each section of the book describes a different phenomenon, gives the different types - for instance, there are two different types of avalanche, with wet and dry snow - and looks at examples of the biggest and worst ones recorded. It then gives tips for safety and survival. A lot of the time, it's not easy to be prepared for something like a tsunami, which comes out of nowhere and is hard to predict, but it is at least good to know what one could do in that situation. Featuring clear information about a comprehensive range of events such as tsunamis, avalanches, earthquakes and volcanoes (grouped under geological disasters), and tornadoes, blizzards, wildfires and tropical cyclones (meteorological disasters), this colourful and fascinating guide is a real eye-opener.

NORTH SOMERSET TEACHERS' BOOK AWARD REVIEW: With appealing, colourful cartoon-style illustrations, 'Earth Shattering Events' is an amazing read, full of fascinating facts, which also reminds the reader of how we take our planet for granted.

READ IT DADDY: Is anything but a light touch, providing fascinating insights into areas of science that aren't often covered in such exquisite detail in natural history books. Authoritatively written with fantastic colourful and engaging illustrations, it's a brilliant book for home or school projects.