Gr 4-6-Meister first presents the history of these extreme forces of nature, covering famous recent occurrences before moving on to how these disasters are predicted as well as suggestions on how to stay safe. She also distinguishes between earthquakes and tsunamis; hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons; and the different types of volcanoes. Plenty of colorful photos and clearly labeled charts that explain more complex concepts are featured in all three selections. While this series offers little new information, Meister's conversational flow is more pleasing than the brief bullets of text found in Susanna Van Rose's Volcano and Earthquake (Knopf, 1992), though these books have fewer illustrations.-Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

11/01/2015
Gr 2–4—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.