Grade 3-4-Bare-bones looks at the what, when, and why of floods and earthquakes. Both titles suffer from changes in voice, poor word choices, and weak sentence structures, all in an attempt to mix a chatty informality with serious subjects. Rarely seen photography taken from Australian photo archives is varied and brings out the kinds of pictures students need to visualize the facts surrounding these disasters. Quakes also includes informative diagrams and drawings that will help children understand what happens during an earthquake, how it is measured, and how buildings are constructed to be more earthquake safe. Both books have insets called "Guess What?," "Disaster Detective," or "Read All About It!" on most pages. While young report writers may find some information here, most will be better served by a good encyclopedia such as World Book, which provides broader coverage.
