Grade 4-8-After discussing the chemical properties of fire, Patent challenges assumptions about it as a harmful force and shows how it is a natural and productive part of the Earth's growth cycles. The clear, unsensationalized text is both informative and lively, with general statements often followed up with examples from the natural world. A discussion of fire-fighting methods focuses mainly on smoke jumpers. A chapter is devoted to the Yellowstone fires of 1988 and their aftermath. The book ends with a balanced look at forest-fire management and examples of successes and failures of prescribed burnings. Mu?oz's vivid full-color photographs range from dazzlingly bright scenes to the more subtle beauty of fireweed thriving amid charred and fallen trees. Seymour Simon's Wildfires (Morrow, 1996) also treats fire as a vital natural force in slightly less detail and Ann Armbruster's Wildfires (Watts, 1996) covers much of the same ground as Patent in a slightly less inviting format. Joy Masoff's Fire! (Scholastic, 1998) focuses on firefighters in fascinating detail while Laurence Pringle's Fire in the Forest (Macmillan, 1994) concentrates on the fire cycle's role in ecosystems. Patent and Mu?oz's title gives libraries another excellent purchase option in a key subject area.
Steven Engelfried, West Linn Public Library, OR
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Patent and Munoz's title gives libraries another excellent purchase option in a key subject area." (School Library Journal )
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