Earthquakes

by Ellen Prager and Susan Greenstein

Published 1 March 2002
Buildings, trees, and the ground sway when the earth gives way. Shaking earth is caused by earthquakes. In clear picture book text, Ellen Prager explains what earthquakes are, how they happen, and what damage they can cause. Simple language and clever explanations make complex geology concepts understandable for the K-2 set. Kids will learn that rocks in the Earth can break like a rubber band that has stretched too far. When a rock breaks, where does the energy go? It causes the ground to move and can become an earthquake. The basics of plate tectonics are clearly conveyed as the reader pictures the earth's surface as a giant jigsaw puzzle of bumping and moving plates. Susan Greenstein's illustrations are vibrant and vigorous, full of detail and capturing a sense of movement that's very important when imagining an earthquake. A sleek crow is the character guide for the book, a silent presence who provides a bird's-eye view of earthquakes in action and always manages to escape disaster. The book includes safety tips on what to do if an earthquake occurs near you and a do-it-yourself experiment on how to create your own earthquake.

Volcano

by Ellen Prager

Published 8 May 2007
This dazzlingly illustrated volcano guide documents the 20 hottest volcanoes of the 1,900 that pockmark Earth’s surface, including recent eruptions that seared landscapes and lives. It is a relevant reference for the 500+ million people who live in active volcano zones and others who are intrigued by our planet’s primal pageantry.