Dramatic photographs and forthright text paint a compelling picture of the devastation and gradual rebuilding following this 1980 cataclysm. Ages 7-10. (Mar.)

Gr 4-8 After the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, a number of fine books for young readers appeared which discussed at length this catastrophe, the devastation it created, and the geologic forces which caused it. Although providing less detail in these areas, Lauber brings the other titles up-to-date by describing the biological succession and geological changes which have since occurred at Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. This provides an excellent example of the interdependence of all plant and animal life. How the Earth itself creates new environments for living things which in turn reshape the Earth is demonstrated visually as well as verbally. The captioned high-quality color photographs are well-integrated with the text, superbly illustrating the written material. This volume is more suited to younger readers than the Aylesworths' The Mount St. Helens Disaster (Watts, 1983) and Goldner's Why Mount Saint Helens Blew Its Top (Dillon, 1981), and is more current. Meryl Silverstein, Meyer Levin Junior High School Library, Brooklyn