Droughts

These early readers supply basic overviews of natural disasters. Each volume starts with a “You Are There” scenario to engage interest by describing a specific event. Meister then offers simple explanations of why and where such disasters are most likely to take place and offers some examples of the most deadly occurrences. She concludes with a hands-on activity such as making a small landslide on loose dirt or sloshing corn flakes in milk to simulate tectonic plate movement. Large photos plus maps and fact boxes usually correlate well with the text. However, the photo of children scooping water seems incongruous next to a paragraph about Ethiopia’s drought, and the world drought map includes only a few areas in the United States. VERDICT Well-designed introductory nonfiction about topics that will interest many students, especially beginning readers.

I read and reviewed the Disaster Zone series, which included separate books for hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards. droughts, earthquakes, etc. I thoroughly enjoyed all of these books, probably most of all because of the incredible photography and illustrations/infographics. Each book in the series started with a section guiding parents and teachers through introducing nonfiction to their young children. Succinctly in 3–4 chapters, the disaster was described, and examples were given from around the world and in the United States. Whether longest drought or deadliest tornado, the books gave good information paired with dramatic photos. Each book had an end section containing an index and glossary, and a “try this” section which will help any teacher do a mini science lab in the class. I found the science behind the books to be accurate and I loved the way the author tied in real disasters. The books are also aligned with Common Core (reading informational texts) and NGSS (Physical Sciences/Earth and Space). Frankly, were informational texts as fun to read in my day, I’d have bought all of the different series from this author.