The Volcano Disaster

Disaster Books #1

by Peg Kehret

Warren Spalding is sent to live with his grandmother after his father dies in an accident and his mother returns to college. There he discovers his grandfather's invention, an Instant Commuter. Accidentally, the boy is transported back in time to the slopes of Mt. St. Helens just minutes before its eruption in 1980. His new friend Betsy follows him in an effort to save him and both experience the whirlwind of ash that makes it difficult to breathe as well as move, the sharp earthquakes, and the frightening lightning. The fact that the two friends are working on a school report about the mountain allows the author to bring in other facts about volcanoes. Some readers will find this approach too didactic. There's no character development; Warren and Betsy are wooden figures as are the other people they briefly encounter in the present world and in the past. However, students interested in volcanoes may be drawn to the detailed descriptions of what it would have been like to be in the midst of this eruption.
Edith Ching, St. Albans School, Mt. St. Alban, Washington,
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Genres: Science Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, Young Adult, Fiction, Adventure, Action

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1998

About the author

Peg Kehret writes middle grade fiction and nonfiction. She's won dozens of state children's choice awards, where kids vote for their favorite book.

When she was twelve, Peg was paralyzed with polio. Most of her protagonists are the age she was then.

A volunteer with animal rescue groups, three of Peg's books are co-authored by Pete the Cat."

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a kid I read the sequel to this, The Blizzard Disaster, and enjoyed it. I reread it a few years ago and enjoyed it in a completely different way - as a hilarious example of how not to write. So I was excited to finally find the first book. It was actually slightly better than the sequel, which unfortunately means it was less hilarious, though it was still pretty funny. To be fair, I don't think a kid of the age this was intended for would care very much about the methods of exposition or the stilted dialogue. It didn't bother me as a kid. My main problem with this one is the major logical holes in the time travel system. There's a machine that you can touch to a spot on a map and it will take you there instantly. Silly, but okay. And when touched to a photograph, it takes you to the place in the photo at the time that picture was taken. This actually makes slightly more sense to me than the map thing. I can even buy that the map and the photo are fundamentally different enough that using the machine on a map would not cause you to travel through time, while the picture does, but... then in the book, the characters use the map to get back to their own time, so.... I'm overthinking this, I know. Anyway, it was funny and I enjoyed myself in spite of (or because of) the badness.

[Debra Dahlgren Rowand · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, another pick for a book club....this time for the tweens. It's a page turner and sure to grab a reluctant reader but it is NOT a book of great depth and character development. But who cares- the readers loved this book and we all decided we would certainly recommend it to another reader. This book is part historical fiction and part time-travel fantasy. With both a boy and a girl protaganists, "The Volcano Disaster" has wide audience appeal. Author Peg Kehret knows how to churn out a page turner and readers of this book were clamoring for more in this series.

[Coulter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that this book looked really silly when I picked it up, and I thought it was really, really sill after reading the first few chapters, but then it got better. The author could have just put the setting for when the volcano erupted, but instead she set it in the present and then the kid finds a time machine and goes back in time to when Mt. St. Helens erupted. After that I thought that this was a great book, with lots of action. Because of that goofy beginning thought, I only give it three stars, even though it had the potential for four and a half.

[Ashley Brianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

currently reading this book for science class . lets see how it will be.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warren is supposed to be working on a class project on Mt. St. Helens, but instead is busy working on his grandfather's Instant Commuter

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! Time travel and dealing with the eruption of Mt. St. Helens.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good time-travel children's book about the eruption of Mt. Saint Helen's. Really exciting.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books which turns out to be a lot better than you expect when you first pick it up.

There's a lot of kids series which take them wandering through time to historical events. This one is the first book which gives a really plausible explanation as to why the kid is wandering. After finding an invention that his dead grandfather was working on, Warren winds up time traveling to the Mount St. Helen's Disaster. Trapped there he needs Betsy, the annoying girl who is working with him on a class project, to come find and save him before it's too late.

What I liked: Wow, great descriptions. This kid's life is definitely in danger - the description of ash and heat and everything else was spot on. The inclusion of sightings of people who died in the disaster is sobering. I feel like this didn't downplay the disaster for the sake of this being a young audience, but led them gently to understand the outcome of ignoring warnings and authorities and doing your own thing. A lot of people who died in this disaster never needed to, if they'd only listened.

Warren is believable and I find I really like him. He has depth, is going through a lot for a kid, and the reason he's staying with his grandmother kind of breaks my heart. Betsy is annoying but becomes more likable. she figures things out naturally making her kind of a neat character.

I liked this story and wish there was a lot more to the series. I would have liked to see where Warren and Betsy wound up next. Thankfully there are two more volumes. The difficulty will be rounding them up I'm afraid.

Overall, kind of a neat book. If you want to know more about Mount St. Helens while at the same time rooting for believable characters, this is the book for you.

[Barbara Scheuter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting story. Doing a report on the volcano, the main character finds himself back in time, on the volcano just before it erupts. Can he escape and return to his time before the erupting volcano gets him?

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Might be a little upsetting for younger readers. The main characters are in constant peril. And several non main characters die.

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was really interesting. I read it a couple of years ago, but definitely worth it.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too implausible

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended by Ethan. I really enjoyed the adventure.

[Jessica Larson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 for me, 4.5 or higher for 3rd-5th graders, so it all depends on who you ask.

This book would be the next step for students who enjoyed Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Treehouse series. The protagonist is older than Osborne's (12), feels awkward around girls, dealing slightly still with his father's death, wants to work on the project with his friend not the know-it-all girl in his class. Like Osborne's books, this one sets up the reader to be intrigued to learn more about a point in time - in this instance the Mount St. Helen's explosion in 1980. As a teacher, the pairing of Kehret's book with a nonfiction book is a no-brainer.

This book as a gateway time travel book into YAL. So if Osborne is first, and Kehret is second, I'd move students into Ryssa Walker's Chronos files next. Walker's books are definitely geared more toward YAL (imagine experiencing Devil in the White City through time travel) and deals with the ethics of time travel which Kehret did not touch on in the first book.

Did I LOVE the book and have to read the entire series. No. Did my students LOVE the book and are anxiously awaiting me to read it so we can discuss it? Yes. So if you're looking to move students from early chapter books to a fast read chapter book, Kehret's got the goods.