Katie's grandmother thinks that a volcano is a geophysical phenomenon caused by the movements of the earth's crust. But Katie thinks that the volcano is Pele, a Hawaiian goddess. As each argues her point, it soon becomes clear they they are "both" right! Full color.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 1-4-As Katie and her grandmother watch the Kilauea volcano erupt during their trip to Hawaii, Grandmother describes the eruption process as natural history. At every step of their discussion, Katie corrects her, interpreting the volcano in terms of the myth of Pele, the goddess of fire. Grandmother says, "The lava found weak spots on the ocean floor and burst free." Katie says, "Pele burst free." In the end, they agree that the natural history and myth tell the same story. Powers's illustrations, done in vivid tropical watercolors, capture the intense tones of the islands and their volcanic activity. George's descriptions may confuse young readers with no prior knowledge of such events and sophisticated vocabulary is not defined in context (e.g., geophysical, epilogue, prelude, eons). However, with a little preparation, teachers will find this an entertaining introduction not only to volcanoes, but also to the relationship between natural phenomena and the birth of myths. A unique offering.
Rosie Peasley, Empire Union School District, Modesto, CA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Rosie Peasley, Empire Union School District, Modesto, CA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Science and myth square off in a confrontation on the slopes of Hawaii's Kilauea: as her grandmother delivers a lecture on lava, tidal waves, plate tectonics, and other "geophysical phenomena," young Katie counters by insisting that it's all the work of Pele, the goddess of fire, feuding with her aquatic sister Na Maka o Kaha'i. Powers alternates swirling, fiery glimpses of Pele, to whom he gives Katie's light skin and blue eyes, with quieter scenes of verdant kipukas (patches of vegetation between lava flows) and past violence, including a school bus half submerged in rock (next to the reassuring information that lava moves at only three feet an hour), schematic island-building sequences, and the bare plain around a recent small eruption within Kilauea's crater. Ultimately, the grandmother capitulates, recognizing that her story and Katie's are essentially the same. This rare comparison of world views not only contains a fair amount of scientific and cultural information but also could spark a search for similar parallels in nature. John Peters
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More About the Author
Jean Craighead George was born in a family of naturalists. Her father, mother, brothers, aunts and uncles were students of nature. On weekends they camped in the woods near their Washington, D.C. home, climbed trees to study owls, gathered edible plants and made fish hooks from twigs. Her first pet was a turkey vulture. In third grade she began writing and hasn't stopped yet. She has written over 100 books.Her book, Julie of the Wolves won the prestigious Newbery Medal, the American Library Association's award for the most distinguished contribution to literature for children, l973. My Side of the Mountain, the story of a boy and a falcon surviving on a mountain together, was a 1960 Newbery Honor Book. She has also received 20 other awards.She attended Penn State University graduating with a degree in Science and Literature. In the 1940s she was a reporter for The Washington Post and a member of the White House Press Corps. After her children were born she returned to her love of nature and brought owls, robins, mink, sea gulls, tarantulas - 173 wild animals into their home and backyard. These became characters in her books and, although always free to go, they would stay with the family until the sun changed their behavior and they migrated or went off to seek partners of their own kind.When her children, Twig, Craig and Luke, were old enough to carry their own backpacks, they all went to the animals. They climbed mountains, canoed rivers, hiked deserts. Her children learned about nature and Jean came home and to write books. Craig and Luke are now environmental scientists and Twig writes children's books, too.One summer Jean learned that the wolves were friendly, lived in a well-run society and communicated with each other in wolf talk -- sound, sight, posture, scent and coloration. Excited to learn more, she took Luke and went to the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory in Barrow, Alaska, where scientists were studying this remarkable animal. She even talked to the wolves in their own language. With that Julie of the Wolves was born. A little girl walking on the vast lonesome tundra outside Barrow, and a magnificent alpha male wolf, leader of a pack in Denali National Park were the inspiration for the characters in the book. Years later, after many requests from her readers, she wrote the sequels, Julie and Julie's Wolf Pack.She is still traveling and coming home to write. In the last decade she has added two beautiful new dimensions to her words beautiful full-color picture book art by Wendell Minor and others and - music. Jean is collaborating with award-winning composer, Chris Kubie to bring the sounds of nature to her words.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful book to teach children,
By A Customer
This review is from: Dear Katie, the Volcano is a Girl (Hardcover)
I use this book in my sixth grade classroom when I teach a unit on volcanos. My students love it and I love the wonderful integration of vocabulary and scientific reasoning with a folk tale.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful but Factually Flawed,
By
This review is from: Dear Katie, the Volcano is a Girl (Hardcover)
While searching with increasing frustration for a narrative text about volcanoes for a fifth grade class I held great hopes for this title by Ms George. Knowing of her natualist bent I expected her book to be frankly better than all the other titles I'd tried. I was also excited to contrast one of the myths of volcanic landscapes with the actual mechanics of eruptions. Sadly, Ms George neglected the factual side of her story to a degree that is astonishing. Its perfectly obvious that she did not consult a geologist or look into a geology textbook before presenting her "geophysical phenomenon". A hot spot has nothing to do with subduction, there is no "sand" in lava and worst of all there is no such thing as a tidal wave. Huge waves called tsunamis are generated by ocean floor earthquakes and landslides. They have nothing to do with the tides. Its no wonder I have such a hard time teaching geology at the college level when children are raised with beautifully illustrated but factually incorrect books.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great religious teaching tool,
By A Customer
This review is from: Dear Katie, the Volcano is a Girl (Hardcover)
We used this as a teaching story at our local Unitarian Universalist sunday school, showing that Humanist and Pagan beliefs can indeed coexist. In this story, the girl tells her grandmother about the Goddess Pele and Her sacred mountain, while the grandmother tells the girl about volcanoes and geological activity. At the end of the book, the grandmother says "I told you the scientific story, and you told me the religious story, and *they were the same*". Beautiful illustrations and very respectful treatment of Pele and Her mountain. Highly recommended.
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