Customer Reviews

Flood: Wrestling With The Mississippi

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I used this in a study on the Mississippi River with elementary children. The pictures are great! Text was too difficult, but I knew that when I purchased it.

In yet another brilliantly written nonfiction book, Lauber twists and turns through the natural and social history of the mighty Mississippi River. From formation to channeling efforts and natural disasters to future plans, the narrative text blends scientific and real-life accounts to present all the "tributaries" of the River. The combination of full-color photographs, illstrations, and maps complements and elaborates the informative and readable text. Lauber concentrates on particular places and people affectd by the flood of 1993, anchoring the more complicated geology and more technological engineering in explicit examples to which readers can relate. Lauber, an indepth researcher, provides specific scienctific facts and descriptions, further depicting the dismal effects of flooding. The remarkable photography records the natural disasters caused by Mother Nature. Catastropic images along the Mississippi transition to photographs of solid community support, affirming readers' beliefs in human acts of kindness. Such integration of photography creates a style that engages the reader; livley writing provides a more comprehensive understanding of the man versus nature conflict. The orderly, attractive design of the text answers questions about the past and evokes new ones regarding the future of the Mississippi River. Contrasting the power of nature and the powerlessness of mankind to fully control the mighty Mississippi; this photo-essay narrative stimulates an interest for real-life science in upper elementary readers.