Earthquakes

by Seymour Simon

Join award-winning science writer Seymour Simon in this picture book introduction to earthquakes!

In Earthquakes, Simon introduces elementary-school readers to earthquakes through engaging descriptions and stunning full-color photographs. He teaches readers why and how earthquakes happen and the damage they can cause through pictures, diagrams, and maps. He also gives real-life examples of earthquakes that have occurred all over the world.

With clear, simple text and stunning full-color photographs, readers will learn all about the fascinating phenomenon that is an earthquake in this informative picture book.

Perfect for young scientists’ school reports, this book supports the Common Core State Standards and includes a glossary and index.

Check out these other Seymour Simon books about natural disasters and

Global Warming

Hurricanes

Lightning

Storms

Tornadoes

Weather

Wildfires

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Seymour Simon, whom the NY Times called "the dean of [children's science:] writers," is the author of more than 250 highly acclaimed science books (many of which have been named Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children by the National Science Teachers Association).

Seymour Simon uses his website, SeymourSimon.com, to provide free downloads of a wealth of materials for educators, homeschoolers and parents to use with his books, including 4-page Teacher Guides for all 26 of his Collins/Smithsonian photo essay books. The site provides multiple resources for kids writing book reports or wanting to explore the online Science Dictionary, and also features the Seymour Science blog highlighting current science news. Educators and families are encouraged to sign up to receive the monthly newsletter from SeymourSimon.com to stay abreast of the latest materials that Seymour Simon is introducing to enrich the reading experience.

He taught science and creative writing in elementary and secondary schools and was chair of the science department at a junior high school in the New York City public school system before leaving to become a full-time writer. "I haven't really given up teaching," he says, "and I suppose I never will, not as long as I keep writing and talking to kids around the country and the world."

Seymour Simon is also a creator and the author of a series of 3D books and a series of Glow-in-the-Dark Books for Scholastic Book Clubs, a series of leveled SEEMORE READERS for Chronicle Books, and the EINSTEIN ANDERSON, SCIENCE DETECTIVE series of fiction books. His books encourage children to enjoy the world around them through learning and discovery, and by making science fun. He has introduced tens of millions of children to a staggering array of subjects; one prominent science education specialist described Simon's books as "extraordinary examples of expository prose."

Seymour Simon has been honored with many awards for his work, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Lifetime Achievement Award for his lasting contribution to children's science literature; the New York State Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature; the Hope S. Dean Memorial Award from the Boston Public Library for his contribution to children's science literature; The Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Award for Non-fiction; the Jeremiah Ludington Award for his outstanding contribution to children's nonfiction; the Empire State Award for excellence in literature for young people; and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Forum on Children's Science Books.

In a recent interview Simon was asked if he ever thinks of retiring. "I seem to be working faster and harder than ever. I absolutely don't feel any urge to sit back and look at what I've done. The only things that I'm thinking about are things I'd like to do in the future. I'm planning and doing and continuing to write. It's what I love to do. I remember a story about an anthropologist going to talk to a tribe and he asked them what was their word for "work." Their response was they have no word for work. Everybody does the things that they do in their life. I love that response. I don't differentiate between work and play. Everything I do is something that I enjoy doing - the writing, the research and everything else."

Seymour Simon writes and photographs nature from his hilltop home in Columbia County in upstate New York, where he lives with his wife Liz Nealon.

You can follow Seymour on Facebook and on Twitter, as well as on his website, which offers free, downloadable Teacher Guides to his books for educators, parents and homeschoolers, as well as the popular Seymour Science Daily Blo

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

REVIEW OF THE UPDATED 2006 EDITION

So yes, the 2006 and obviously updated edition of Seymour Simon’s originally published in 1991 non fiction picture book Earthquakes does indeed and fortunately include both websites and book titles for further study and research. And I am also and equally pretty well sure that the 1991 edition of Earthquakes would therefore and most likely not be containing any bibliographic materials whatsoever, as that has for the most part tended to be how Seymour Simon’s non fiction picture books work (namely, that the more recent editions do generally contain a bit of secondary source information, do often have suggestions for further reading, but that the author’s older ones generally do not).

But sadly and unfortunately, albeit I am indeed very much pleased that in the 2006 edition of Earthquakes Seymour Simon now also presents a theme specific bibliography (as well as a handy index) and that I do find Earthquakes a thoroughly informative introduction to what causes earthquakes, how destructive they have been and can be, and with in particular Seymour Simon’s explanation of plate tectonics and how the most severe earth movements and tremors usually happen at the edges of the earth’s plates really to be considered not only spot on so to speak but also textually detailed enough without being confusing and frustrating to and for the intended age group, to and for children from about the age of seven onwards, I still cannot consider giving Earthquakes more than a three star ranking, a high three stars of course, but still, there are a few textual issues that do rather prevent me from granting even to the updated edition of Earthquakes more than three stars.

For one, even though I well realise just how susceptible to large and destructive earthquakes much of the USA is (and in particular the entire Pacific Northwest), I also do wish that Seymour Simon’s presented text (as well as the accompanying photographs) were a bit more international in scope, since there are also many areas in for example Canada, the Middle East, many parts of Southern Asia and also in the oceans that are equally considered as being prone to potentially destructive and devastating earthquakes. Therefore, and in my humble opinion, it would definitely and certainly make Earthquakes just a bit more inclusive and less America-centric if the author, if Seymour Simon would make his printed words a bit more balanced with regard to showing earthquake occurrences on a global and international level.

And for two, and for and to me much more problematically, since earthquakes also seemingly can occur due to industrial practices such as fracking and artificially created and planned explosions, I do totally and absolutely consider it both ridiculously short-sighted and actually also rather unacceptable that in Earthquakes, Seymour Simon not even once mentions moderate to serious earth tremors that have probably, that have likely happened due to industry, due to in particular underground mining practices. For while the industries making use of fracking, blasting and the like are of course constantly busy denying that there is a danger, busy claiming there is no truth to the assertion that in particular fracking might indeed cause moderate earth movements and tremors, there in fact is increasingly solid evidence to the contrary, increasing proof of especially fracking being able to cause not all that mild earthquakes, well at the very very least, Seymour Simon’s Earthquakes should definitely and certainly be mentioning this within the text proper (because I for one do consider this as being necessary to know, and yes indeed, even in a general picture book introduction to earthquakes geared towards children).

[Nicole V · Rating 4 out of 5]

Earthquakes is an informational text all about earthquakes. From how earthquakes form to how to stay safe during an earthquake, the text touches upon the key points to learning about earthquakes. Real photographs, graphs, and charts are used to help illustrate the book and deepen the understanding.

Earthquakes is a good anchor text for teaching the informational text genre. It is not too long or overwhelming for students. It helps students to understand nonfiction text features and see the destruction earthquakes can cause.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is a little complex to be a child's book but for an older child doing a report this would be good for them. It lists everal earthquakes throughout the world and the aftermath of them (number of deaths etc)

[Nahuatl P Vargas · Rating 5 out of 5]

El tema es muy difícil, pero sin duda uno que puede interesar a los niños, especialmente los que viven en zonas sísmicas.
El texto es breve y claro, las fotografías fuertes pero no morbosas.
Se menciona el temblor de la Ciudad de México de 1985 ya aparece una fotografía del mismo.
Recomiendo.

[Shane Bostic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book was very interesting and very informal about earthquakes. I think the author did a good job at writing the book.

[Jen Traub · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seymour Simon is stellar.

[Mackenzie Blaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can confirm that I am not a professional geologist. Neither are 4th graders lol. I think they liked it because there were pictures and it wasn’t abstract.

[Hamza Mounir]

Have you ever wondered what happens when the earth beneath us moves?

The thrilling non-fiction read "Earthquakes" is professionally written by Seymour Simon. Even though the land beneath our feet is usually solid and firm, every year there are over a million earthquakes. Most are too small to be noticed, but others are devastating and cause many casualties. For example, in Kobe, Japan 1995, a large earthquake toppled a whole freeway. Most earthquakes take place in the earth's crust. Earthquakes occur because of fault lines in this crust. One type of fault line would be called a strike-slip fault. In this type of crack, the rocks on one side of the fault try to move past the other side causing energy to build up. For years, this energy will be stored, but when it is released [just like a rubberband], the force causes an earthquake. Four out of five of the world's earthquakes take place along the rim of the pacific ocean called the ring of fire. This area contains parts of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Mexico, the west coasts of New Zealand, the Philipines, Japan and Russia. In the U.S., have of the earthquakes there occur in California. This happens because of the San Andreas fault, a 1,800-mile thick layer of very hot dense rock. One of the largest earthquakes in the world occurred in San Francisco which collapsed over 28,000 buildings. The sizes of earthquakes are measured on machines called seismographs. All over the world, there are hundreds of seismographic stations. These seismographs measure the longitude, latitude and depth of the earthquake. Scientists use the Richter Scale to measure earthquake's magnitude. Earthquakes that have a magnitude less than 4 are felt by everyone but harmless. Major earthquakes have magnitudes of 6 which are deadly. One of the largest earthquakes happened in Sumatra and had a magnitude of 9.0. Thus, scientists have learned much about earthquakes and their effects, and can help the world resist to these natural disasters.

This non-fiction book relates to a lot of information we have learned during science class. For instance, last year we learned about the earth's structure and tectonic plates. Seymour Simon presents a more in-depth review of last years work. Additional to the in-depth version of earthquakes we studied last year, this book teaches the reader more about where earthquakes are the most found. Furthermore, "Earthquakes" elaborates on real life earthquakes and thoroughly explains why they have happened. Another title I would give the non-fiction read "Earthquakes" would be "The Wonders Under our feet" because of many reasons. First, Seymour Simon explains the crust and tectonic plate theory in depth at the start of the book. Second, the theme of earthquakes usually occurs under our feet, and they are unique phenomena of nature. Lastly, this book is truly non-fiction because of how much information it provides and the topic of earthquakes. Biographies and fiction books don't specialise one topic and make you an expert on it. "Earthquakes" by Seymour Simon does indeed that. Thus, "Earthquakes" is a true non-fiction book.

I would recommend this book to a class for professional use. Whilst reading this non-fiction book, I noticed that it contains a lot of information that would relate to the middle school curriculum. This book is fairly simple and short. Hence, I would recommend it to anyone who is in need of understanding the earth better. This read would be perfect for a teacher who needs inspiration to teach their class. Thus, this book is an excellent read and can serve many purposes in the classroom.

[Hyun Young Jeong · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book ‘Earthquakes’ by Seymour Simon is a non-fiction science book that teaches the readers about earthquakes. How much does an earthquake occur? According to this book, there are a million earthquakes per year, an average of once every thirty seconds in the Earth. Most earthquakes are too small to be noticed by people, but hundreds of earthquakes every year are strong enough to change the landforms and how people live. For example, a large earthquake in Kobe, Japan, in 1995, destroyed roads and buildings. Most earthquakes take place in the Earth’s crust. Cracks in the rocks called faults, run through the crust. In one type of fault, called a strike-slip fault, the rocks on one side of the fault try to move past the rocks on the other side, causing energy to build up. For years, the friction will hold the rocks in place. However, finally like a stretched rubber band, the rocks suddenly snap past each other and cause the focus of an earthquake. From the focus, the vibration spreads really fast, causing the land to shake. In the world, there are certain places that earthquakes occur a lot. Because of plate tectonics, the edge of two plates meeting together has a lot of earthquakes occurring. These specific places form a ring shape when connected, so it’s called the ring of earthquakes. Seismographic are the instruments that scientists use to measure earthquake shocks. Modern seismographic record their data to a computer and are able to detect a tiny earth tremor thousands of miles away. Scientists use the measurements to find an earthquake’s timing, magnitude, and location (latitude, longitude, and depth). Scientists use the Richter scale to measure an earthquake’s magnitude, the amount of energy it releases. Because of the mightiness of earthquakes, people in the world are building houses designed to be earthquake-resistant. As one can see, earthquakes are vibration from the earth’s crust, and can destroy people’s lives.

While reading this book, readers might have some questions. First, if the readers can change the name of the book, how would they change it? The most likely answer would be ‘Earthquakes: The mighty vibration’ because the earthquake is a vibration, and it is very mighty. Second, why is this topic important? Learning about earthquakes are important, because it is a natural disaster that can harm people’s lives, and we need to learn to survive through it. Third, why did the author write this book, and how do readers know it? The author wrote the book to inform and alert people about how earthquakes happen and how we should react to it. Readers can know because the author uses a tone of alert during the part when he speaks about how to react to it. As one can see, the author, Seymour Simon wrote this book to inform and alert readers about earthquakes.

I would recommend this book to 6 & 7th-grade middle school students. The reason why is because this book is an easy non-fiction science book, and at the same time, there are a lot of good information in this book. Also, this book would be helpful for ELL students because this book is short, and does not have a lot of hard vocabularies. As one can see, I would recommend this book to & 7th-grade middle school students.

[Sabil.imanecasablancaamericanschool.com]

The marvelous novel "Earthquakes" written by Seymour Simon describes the layers of our planet. Simon wrote this novel with such characterization, he made the earthquakes seem to be a human being. The novel states the occurring of million earthquakes each year. There are different types of earthquakes such as the small ones which are usually not noticed but the large ones leave a mark after it’s action such as the one that happened in 1995 in Japan. The action begins at the crust and continues throughout the layers creating the shaking of land and vibration. If two plates meat up together the earthquake might have a bigger destruction on roads and buildings. Scientists are improving technology to create a more specific instrument more developed that the usual seismograph which used to measure the shocks. The measurement gives a precise explanation of the case. In conclusion, planet Earth is currently facing climate change but still facing earthquakes day after day.

"Earthquakes" written by Seymour Simon is non-fiction book that makes realize interesting actions that may occur while reading the book itself.
"Earthquakes" is a descriptive title but not as attractive to catch a reader’s eye. This book was recommended to me but it was not catching because of it’s title but rather of it’s summary. “The Vibration of living Earth”. The title doesn’t give as much information but creates a mystery in the reader’s mind. This book reminds me of a project I did in Science class of planet’s surface. I remember creating a video which explains the formation of earthquakes using real-life objects such as play-do. The novel is non-fiction due to it’s direct information and history. Simon wrote this book with a strict and harmonious version rather than usual books I’ve read. Finally, "Earthquakes" brings back the importance of climate change and it’s disasters, the world doesn’t even realize in the 20th century.

I would recommend this book to all Science lovers. This non-fiction will expand the reader’s knowledge about Earthquakes as well as make them realize the world is facing serious conflicts. With this lesson in mind, it might the reader to develop the climate change by a small action such as recycling plastic or use car when needed. The book will be useful to any middle school student that needs to research for the vibration of Earth. It even teaches students in a fun way. Thus, this novel shows the hurtful reality it still sends a strong moral.

[Collin Powell]

The book starts off by giving the example of the earthquake that hit Mexico City in 1985. It then goes on to talk mostly about the fault lines, explaining where earthquake risk is the greatest. It shows the different kinds of fault movement that can be associated with different types of earthquakes using photographs and illustrations. It also gives you zones in the US and around the world where earthquake happen most often.
I enjoyed this book, and liked the use of photography to show the after-effects of earthquakes, including how land moves along fault lines and the extent of damage that can occur. I would use it in a similar way as I would use the book on tsunamis – to help students learn about faults, tectonic plates, geology and natural disasters.

[Marissa Pezzullo · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book you can teach students in your classroom all about earthquakes. What causes them, and where they are more likely to occur. There are great pictures in this book that have all been taken by the author Seymour Simon, or a scientist that he would personally ask to take the picture for him. I think this would be a great book to have in the classroom as it is easy to read and very informational.

[Edward Creter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book on earthquakes, this time from the Smithsonian Institute. More facts on quakes than the one I previously read from author Ker Than, without the needless inserts a la "Fun Factoids" segments with colorful pics so in vogue with kids' science books these days. It's all facts and info. Nothing else needed.

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written book on earthquakes. Definitely provides MG readers with information about earthquakes, but as someone who has experienced several earthquakes, it is definitely missing the emotional/experiential aspect of earthquakes.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading to my three daughters. Kiley (5yrs.) insisted that we read this book tonight. She loves to read books about science topics. Katy (8yrs.) is also enjoying this book, but worried about the topic. Claire is not ready for this style read aloud, yet.

[Deanna Sutter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great one by Seymour Simon...We really liked the amazing pictures of the how land had reshaped from earthquakes...

[Cana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mommy says: Cana is fascinated with natural disasters, but they don't seem to frighten her or give her nightmares. She loved this book.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Making Meaning Grade 5 Resource Kit

Informative, great pictures, well-written

[Room 123 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Earthquakes can do damage to a car. An earthquake can bring a boat from sea to shore. Check this book at your local library! By Thomas

[Jennifer]

Learning about global weather is important so we can learn how to relate and assist others in need.

[Lizandra]

good\

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

cool i give it 3 stars :)

[Leeanna Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book talked about earthquakes and what causes earthquakes. It also talked about the different scales used to measure an earthquake. Along with that, it contained a map of all of the earthquake zones in the United States.

I liked this book. I would use this book to talk about earthquakes to my students.

[Hayley]

Earthquakes by Seymour Simon

There are no main characters in this book, as it is an informational text. This book discusses earthquakes in Kobe, Japan, Mexico City, San Andreas & San Francisco, California, and many other locations. The main conflict mentioned throughout the text is the aftermath of an earthquake and how an earthquake is caused. What can be learned from this book is how we can prepare for earthquakes and how they work. I think this is a very good book, because it is educational and makes you learn about a serious topic that needs to be acknowledged. My favorite part of the book was on how others were effected in different earthquakes.