Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount Saint Helens

by Patricia Lauber

May 18, 1980, 8:32 A.M.: An earthquake suddenly triggered an avalanche on Mount St. Helens, a volcano in southern Washington State. Minutes later, Mount St. Helens blew the top off its peak and exploded into the most devastating volcanic eruption in U.S. history.

What caused the eruption? What was left when it ended? What did scientists learn in its aftermath?

In this extraordinary photographic essay, Patricia Lauber details the Mount St. Helens eruption and the years following. Through this clear accurate account, readers of all ages will share the awe of the scientists who witnessed both the power of the volcano and the resiliency of life.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Childrens, Nature, History, Juvenile

64 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 1986

About the author

Patricia Lauber is the author of more than sixty-five books for young readers. Many of them are in the field of science, and their range reflects the diversity of her own interests - bats, dolphins, dogs, volcanoes, earthquakes, the ice ages, the Everglades, the planets, and earthworms.

Two of her books, SEEDS: POP STICK GLIDE and JOURNEY TO THE PLANETS, were nonfiction nominees for The American Book Award. She was the 1983 winner of The Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Award for her overall contribution to children's nonfiction literature.

As well as writing books, Ms. Lauber has been editor of Junior Scholastic, editor-in-chief of Science World, and chief editor, science and mathematics, of The New Book of Knowledge.

A graduate of Wellesley College, she is married and lives in Connecticut. When not writing, she enjoys hiking, sailing, traveling, cooking, reading, and listening to music.

Reviews

[Tamara York · Rating 5 out of 5]

Newbery Challenge 117/412. Outstanding children’s nonfiction is hard to come by. This book about the eruption of Mount St. Helens is outstanding. It is engaging with lots of color pictures and well written prose. It tells of the eruption and also the regrowth after. Instead of demonizing volcanoes, it talks about how volcanoes make new life possible and create new land. This book could have easily been frightening for young readers, but it’s tone is just right. It presents the event in just the right way, describing the enormity of the eruption but still allowing kids to sleep at night. Highly recommend. 🌋

[IUS F19 ERIC WISE · Rating 2 out of 5]

It won the Newbery Medal Nominee (1987) and the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (1988). It was a decent book to read. I don't suggest reading it to kids since the wording is small on some of the pages and it can get confusing for them depending on grade level.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-written, very informative picture book describing the volcano's eruption and aftermath of Mount St. Helens. Lauber has a younger audience in mind as she explained scientific terms, processes and specifications. The scientists were surprised by what occurred on May 18, 1980 because it posed three questions: (1) Why had Mount St. Helens erupted so suddenly? (2) What events had caused the big fan-shaped area of destruction? (3) What had become of the mountaintop, which was now 1290 feet lower? Careful discovery and evidence explained that an earthquake and avalanche had preceded the volcano's eruption. The mountaintop slid down the mountain in the avalanche resulting in a huge crater in the shape of a large horseshoe. The high winds had carried rocks of all sizes which caused great destruction miles away. There were six more eruptions of varying degrees following the most immense one on May 18th.
Lauber's descriptions equally cover how this land was able to heal itself. Scientists were amazed to witness how quickly both flora and fauna returned to land that once appeared inhabitable. The book is full of pictures that highlight the terrain before and after the eruptions. This was an interesting choice for a Newbery Honor, but considering the year it received this, 1987, it would have still been a newsworthy topic to explore.

[Amber Scaife · Rating 2 out of 5]

A non-fiction Newbery Honor Book about the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 and the area's subsequent regrowth. Eh. Clearly meant for kids, but it accomplishes this in simplistic language only. I mean, come on, this is a cool topic, so a book for kids about it should be more interesting than this one is. Also, the photos included were weirdly hard to figure out; for example, some of them were meant to focus on something that was *way* in the background of the actual photo, and a couple had blurbs that talked about features of the mountain that I could not find in the photo at all. Some sort of arrow pointing out said feature would have been great and seems like an obvious necessity to me. Anyway. I'll file this one in the Could Have Been Cool But Missed the Boat box.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shortest of all the Newbery books for the year, but spending time looking at the pictures and maps might add time to the experience of reading it. I sure hope you can find a copy in your library. It was okay on openlibrary.org, but would be so much better in paper. Fascinating topic. Could have been a bit more clear to read along, and a bit more engaging writing style, but still, definitely worth the read.

I remember the explosion, especially the dome growing so fast. And I remember, too, how fast life came back. It's an important part of history. Scientists are now much better at making predictions and knowing when to evacuate ppl. And we all realize the truth that nature will out (life finds a way).

[Keenan Story · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informational
2nd-5th grade reading level
This book was a surprise to me. I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by the way the author makes engaging and fun use out of an informational nonfiction book. This book discusses Mount St. Helens volcano. It gives information about the leading up to the volcanoes eruption, the eruption itself, the ecosystem, and other scientific studies on the topic. Overall, I love the use of pictures to serve as an aide to the information. The book is designed and structured in a way to give reliable and factual information, but to also engage young readers and make learning about these things more fun!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

1987 Newbery Honor Book

I enjoyed this book about the eruption of Mount St. Helens. I was just 8 months old when Mount St. Helens erupted, so it has always been a part of my life, and it was very interesting to read about the details of this unique eruption. Lauber then talks about the ecology of life rebuilding on the devastated mountainside, and about volcanoes and the tectonic plates in general. Photographs add to the text, making the pages engaging and informative. Lauber does a good job of writing for the intended age group without going over their heads or being condescending.

[Shella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good nonfiction book. It had a fantastic chapter about the how the healing process works after a disaster like this one. Along with this, there are many examples of symbiotic relationships with plants and animals. Without the amazing pictures, this could not stand alone on text. This is why I don't think it should have been a Newbery honor winner. I do appreciate how in this decade more nonfiction books were noticed. It is a shame more modern nonfiction is not recognized like Gail Jarrow's books. Her text can stand alone anytime.

[Maryrose Fisher-Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount St. Helens was an exceptional book full of information and colorful pictures. The information that can be obtained from this book is phenominal. This would be a great book for the classroom. The book was full of information and easy to read and follow. I think this book would be appropriate for grades K-5. It would be a great book to enhance any science lesson.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good younger reader science book. The larger paragraphs of text were the weakest parts - they certainly seemed to be written down to its targeted readers. The best parts were the photos and captions and short bits of text interspersed. Surprised to see this as a Newbery Honor - not really what I think of for that. But this book would would work as a reference for the early school papers I remember writing so long ago.

[Brianna Kazmierzak · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is would be a perfect book to use for older elementary students, or even middle school and high school students, when learning about volcanoes. There is an abundance of information in the book detailing the eruption of Mount St. Helen, and it explains the causes and the effects of the eruption.

[Gatto · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an informative book for elementary aged kids about the eruption and aftermath of the Mount St. Helens volcano. It focuses on the nature side as opposed to the human side of the eruption. Its a fine book for comprehension. Students can get clues from the pictures to help them understand the text.

[Chris Francik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was published about five years after the destructive eruption of Mount Saint Helens. The text and many illustrations paint a clear picture of the changes occurring on the volcano in the first few years after the volcano’s eruption. It would be fascinating to have a follow up text detailing changes in the destruction zone in the 25 years since the publication of this text.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love his book. This is a wonderful story about the erupting of Mt. St. Helens. The before and after pictures in chapter two are my absolute favorite. This book would be great for 4-7th-grade learners.

[Melissa Namba · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not your book for your average kid, because much of it will be over their head. However, for that special kid who is obsessed with volcanoes and has gone through all of the primers, well this one is perfect!

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent engaging narrative that clearly explains what happened in 1980 and subsequently. This book teaches plenty about volcanoes, but it goes far beyond what the typical elementary science books cover, addressing how plants and animals are part of the ecosystem.

[Debbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is for younger readers, but full of great information and photographs that help kids understand volcanos and the aftermath of an eruption. It would be a great book to use with struggling readers in a science class when studying volcanos and ecosystems

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember the horrifying event of this volcano erupting and being the big news item for some time. In this book is the very interesting information and history of that event. The photographs are fabulous, showing the beauty, the clues, the horror and tragedy, the aftermath, and the return of life.
Chapters are:
1. The Volcano Wakes;
2. The Big Blast;
3. Survivors and Colonizers;
4. Links and More Links;
5. Volcanoes and Life;
Index.

I used this book for the summer part of the 52BookClub 2023 reading challenge, prompt "Pick Your Road Trip Sights to See: a book with this item on the cover: Mountains."

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a YA non- fiction book that covers the eruption of Mount St. Helens and then how life returned to the area. It covers up to three years after the eruption. It was a Newbery honor book in 1987.

[Jody Kyburz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great geology! It's specifically about Mount St. Helens, but applies to other more general aspects of geology.

[Yi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I understand that they want to make it accessible to the general public when explaining scientific terms, but calling fungi "small plants" simply defies the purposes of educating the reader.

[Matthew Bowers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eye-opening account of a historic natural disaster

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super informative and easy to read.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pictures were neat to see, but the book was a little dry for me.

[Isabella Chupashko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like all the different descriptions of the volcano!😁

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book.

[Laura Talley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember when mt st Helen’s erupted so this brought back a lot of memories. It’s amazing how that much destruction happened but little by little, life finds a way

[Gabriella Bumbaca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Informational Non-Fiction
Grade Range: 4-6
Review:
I would never read this whole book to a class. However, it could be a very insightful tool for a research project on volcanos, or Mount St. Helens specifically. I even learned lots of new information so students will no doubt learn some things, as well!

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

"No living thing exists all by itself. Each is linked to other living things and to its surroundings."

—Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount St. Helens, P. 34

I'd give two and a half stars to this book.

Volcano actually spends less time going into depth about the eruption itself and the jaw-dropping facts about the devastation that was caused by it, and more on discussing how it was that prominent Mount St. Helens, which had in mere moments morphed into a sterile wasteland of death and decay, slowly became a haven for new life once again. And we're talking about an eruption so violent that in one single day, St. Helens lost twelve hundred feet from its stature, so there would have been no shortage of material for the book even had it concentrated solely on that side of the action. Even as it is, a great deal of the book's power comes from the photographs that author Patricia Lauber chose to represent the scenes before and after the disaster. These photos were selected with impeccable insight, and did a beautiful yet sobering job of showing the whole picture.

However, I really think that readers of any age will be interested by the book's main focus on the many types of simple life that were able to survive the violent upheaval of the May 1980 St. Helens volcanic eruption. Volcano notes that St. Helens has erupted countless times throughout history, and that scientists knew life would eventually return to the barren mountain, but even the experts were surprised by how quickly life in all its forms began to return. Despite more than fifty human casualties from the blow-up, and the loss of thousands upon thousands of square miles of beautiful forrest and the wildlife that had called it home, the most important lesson that the eruption seemed to offer was that life is amazingly resilient; in fact, it is always more flexible and able to adapt than than we expect. No matter what unforeseen tragedy unveils itself and no matter how much damage it inflicts, the spark of will behind all life will eventually stand up again and face the risks of living. The concluding message of the book is rooted in this vein of hope, which I found to be a completely appropriate take on it all.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this. It is relatively short, highly illustrated with language that is easy to understand—perfect for a middle-school aged student interested in volcanology.

The most interesting part of the book for me was in the description of the healing of the mountain. Ms. Lauber does a nice job of explaining the delicate relationship that exists between the different animals and plants within an ecosystem. “Here and there in the gray wilderness, a hardy pant grew—perhaps fireweed or lupine. It seemed to be the only living thing around, but it wasn’t… The plant was an island of life; an island of survivors and colonizers. Each kind of life made some other kind possible.”

I learned something new about birds! “Once woodpeckers have raised their young, they desert the nest holes. Deserted woodpecker holes helped mountain bluebirds to return. Bluebirds also nest in holes, but they cannot make their own. They must find holes that have formed naturally or that have been made by other animals.”

This passage exemplifies the type of accessible explanation used throughout the book: “Both fish and water insects need oxygen. In many lakes there was little oxygen during the first few years after the eruption. They were filled with trees and bits of plants. Billions upon billions of bacteria and other tiny living things were in the lakes, feeding on these materials and on one another and using up the oxygen…That first summer there were two main insect foods for the fish. One was the rat-tailed maggot, a young form of horsefly. The tail of this maggot is like a straw, and it serves as a breathing tube. In water with little oxygen, the maggot puts up its rat tail and takes oxygen from the air. The second food was the young of mosquitoes, which also have breathing tubes.” Learned something new about maggots and mosquitoes—breathing tubes, who knew?!