Burn: The Life Story of Fire

by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

How fire has shaped our planet, our history and our imaginations. Burning buildings and risky rescues often capture our attention, but how often do we consider the importance of fire in our lives? Whether it's the rumble of a furnace in the morning or the backyard barbecue ritual, we still use fire for the same reasons as the earliest humans. In fact, fire is so important that it's incorporated into almost every moment of our lives. In seven compelling chapters, Burn explores the role of fire in such diverse areas as civilization, religious belief, industry, communications, emotions, war and nature. To many cultures -- from Egyptians who worshipped the immortality of a phoenix born out of flames, to seventh-century Koreans whose system of huge signal fires helped protect their border -- fire has been both awe-inspiring and critical for survival. Through the ages fire has been both friend and foe, but its crucial role has never been doubted. Burn uncovers the dynamic and fascinating history of one of civilization's most essential instruments, religion's most enduring icons, and nature's mightiest forces.

Genres: Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published August 17, 2007

About the author

Tanya writes both fiction and non-fiction, often choosing topics related to science, pop culture, or social history—or a combination of the three. She enjoys combining factual research with intriguing narratives, or the life stories of interesting folks.

In her spare time, Tanya likes to run, bake, and read. Her favourite meal is breakfast, her favourite color is blue, and her favourite children’s book is A Wrinkle in Time.

Tanya grew up in Creston, B.C., and now lives in Vancouver with her husband, who claims to be the world's only Burmese occupational therapist. She balances writing time with parenthood, caring for her daughter Julia and her son Matthew.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this one and chose not to finish after 30 pages and flipping through to see if it would get any better. It was not engaging to me as an adult, and I doubt a middle grade reader would be engaged either. Very dry. (Like good kindling?) ;)

[Kathleen Garber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is marketed for young readers ages 10-12 but I wouldn't recommend it for the under 12’s as it talks about death, natural disasters, war, guns and other sensitive issues. In fact the first two paragraphs of the whole book talk about a very sad and upsetting disaster that had ME upset so I’d be careful with sensitive kids.

The book is very interesting and has lots of interesting information and facts but I do think it could have been organized a little better. I like to know what a chapter is about by it’s chapter name and often I couldn’t tell. I do give credit for creative chapter names but perhaps they could have added a smaller subtitle explaining it more. For example, chapter 1 is called Fanning the Flames. Perhaps they could have made it Fanning the Flames: How We Learned To Make and Use Fire.

The chapters are as follows (with my explanation of what’s in the chapter in brackets:) The First Sparks (Introduction with a story and explanation of how fire fighters determine the cause of a fire), Fanning the Flames(how we learned to make and use fire), Burnings and Blessings(Fire in Religion and people who can walk on or through fire without getting hurt), Furnace and Forge(Using fire in making things such as pottery and steam engines), Where There’s Smoke…( fire signals including light houses), All Fired Up(Emotions and Protests), Ready, Aim, Fire!(War and Weapons), A Fiery Planet(Natural Disasters such as Volcanoes and Lightning) and Reborn in the Ashes(How fire can also make new life).

As I said, the subject matter is very interesting and I’m glad I got to read this book I just think the Chapters should have had subtitles and although I can’t pinpoint exactly how the text could be organized better, I found my mind wandering a few times

[HeavyReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I mooched this book, I didn't realize it was written with middle school kids as its intended audience.

I can't say I enjoyed it. The writing was rather bland. I basically just plowed through it to pass the time.

[Tammy Flanders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Go to blog, Apples with Many Seeds to see my review:
http://applewithmanyseedsdoucette.blo...