Volcano Wakes Up! - Hardcover

Peters, a poet whose creative books on earth science include The Sun, the Wind, and the Rain (1988) and Earthshake: Poems from the Ground Up (2003), now imagines a day in the life of a volcano and its neighbors. The point of view shifts on each page or double-page spread, as the verse offers different forms and distinctive voices for the scrappy young volcano at the heart of the action, the party-loving ferns in its crevices, lava-flow crickets speaking in text-message phrases, the ever-changing paved road, and the sun and moon observing the scene. In the cut-paper collage illustrations, dramatic composition as well as varied hues and textures create visual interest even in scenes with no living characters. A two-page appended note comments on Hawaiian volcanoes, the ferns springing up in their crevices, the crickets living in cooled lava cracks, the frequently damaged roads, and the sight of lava flows into the ocean as the sun sets and the moon rises. An intriguing classroom read-aloud choice for many voices. Grades 2-4. --Carolyn Phelan