The Volcano Disaster [Paperback]

Peg Kehret (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1998 | Age Level: 8 and up | Series: Frightmares

Warren Spaulding and Betsy Tyler are supposed to be working on a class project about Mount St. Helens. Instead Warren is busy testing his grandfather's latest invention--the Instant Commuter. Suddenly, he is teleported back to the morning of the eruption and he has no way of getting back home!.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7-This is the first book in a planned series of "natural disaster" stories. 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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 4^-6. Twelve-year-old Warren is assigned to write a --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671009680
• ISBN-13: 978-0671009687
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #224,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've published 45 books; all but two are for children. I wrote magazine articles, short stories, and plays for many years before I discovered that what I like best is to write books for kids.
When I was twelve, I was paralyzed with polio. I made almost a full recovery but I remember that time of my life so clearly that it's easy for me to write from the viewpoint of a twelve or thirteen-year-old.
I'm always thrilled when one of my books wins a state young reader award, because I know those awards are voted on by children.
I am a widow who was married for 48 years. I have two grown children and four grandchildren. I live on a small wildlife sanctuary near Mt. Rainier National Park and I often have deer and elk in my yard.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool book!, May 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Volcano Disaster (Hardcover)

Warren Spalding isn't happy to be working with Betsy Spalding. But the teacher of his natural disasters class assigned the two to work together on a report on the eruption of Mount St. Helen's on May 18, 1980. When the two are working together, Warren is trying to work his late grandfather's invention to travel through time when he accidentally ends up on Mount St. Helen's when it's about to erupt. Worst of all, he left the time machine - called the Instant Communter - in the present. The only way Warren can be saved is if Betsy figures out how to work the machine, travels to 1980, and finds Warren. Can Betsy get to Mount St. Helen's before the volcano erurpts? Read this exciting page-turner to find out. Once I started it, I couldn't put it down!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Volcanic Disaster, December 16, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Volcano Disaster (Paperback)

The Volcano Disaster by Peg Kehret is one of the most exciting books I have ever read. Besides all the action packed into this book, it gives you the best facts on what happened on the day Mt. St. Helens errupted.
It all starts as a class assignment with Warren and Betsy. These two partners are really not close. Warren has no time for this, he wants to continue his grampa's invevtion called the Instant Commuter. It allows you travel throw space to get to a destination. For instance, you can go to New Jersey from Japan in a few seconds. But Warren doesn't know that his grampa's invention can go in time too! Betsy suprises Warren by finding his secret, the Instant Commuter.The invention sent him to the time when Mt. Saint Helens errupts! There's one major problem He can't go back, why, I'm not telling. You'll just have to read The Volcano Disaster!

4.0 out of 5 stars The way I feel about a BLASTING book!, October 22, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Volcano Disaster (Paperback)

The story takes place in 2 parts of this book Warrens grandmothers house, and in a differnent time period. One thing I liked about this book is that it seems alive and has alot of excitement and all of the characters attitudes seem real and alive. I also like how the characters act in different ways and certain situations. I would compare this book to The Terrorist a mystery book because in each of these book there is some suspense and in some parts you don't know whats going to happen next. I would also compare this book that I read about a boy who time travels to save the world from dinasaurs.