The Krakatau Eruption

A True Book

by Peter Benoit

The horror! The humanity! The heroes! Heart-stopping disasters from ships torn apart by icebergs to planes bursting into flames under mysterious circumstances and fiery volcanoes wiping out entire villages, these titles tackle true-life tales of man-made and natural disasters that enthrall and bewilder readers of all ages. Filled with facts and figures as well as characters both brave and tragic, this True Book series investigates the events leading up to a disaster, explores the causes, and ponders how the events changed, or could alter, history.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

48 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2011

Reviews

[Meredith]

Involves a LOT of specific dates, difficult-to-pronounce place names, measurements, technical terms, and photographs without adequate captions/source notes. It was an interesting choice to write a photographic-journalism-style book about an event for which there are no photographs. Not really a great topic for children either as it focuses on the damage caused and magnitude of the event.
The lack of storytelling and focus of facts left me, the adult, uninterested as well.

[Kate]

I can't see many kids who aren't already interested in volcanoes wanting to pick this book up, and it mostly focuses on the gory details of the Krakatau eruption. The book is too focused on one event, yet doesn't do a good job of explaining, in kid-friendly terms, the effects of the event. I say libraries should buy other, more general juvenile books about volcanoes, unless this Scholastic series is part of an approval plan.