The Volcano Disaster

Author: Peg Kehret

Main Characters: Warren Spalding and Betsy Tyler

The story is about a 6th grader that has lost his father in a car accident. His mother has decided to go back to school so she asks his grandmother to watch him for a few months until she finishes. Apparently, the woman lives in the same district so he can continue in the same school. His grades and attitude are suffering as one would expect for a teenage boy with so much going on in his life. He is assigned a school project with a girl named Betsy. At first he is not happy about having her as his partner, but he quickly learns what a great partner she really is. He discovers that his grandfather had been working on an invention that would make commuting much faster and easier and Warren decides to try to continue working on the invention in his spare time. He had it all together and ready to try when Betsy comes over with some information about Mount St. Helen, the project they were to work on. He accidentally hits the probe on a picture in the book and is quickly transported not only to the volcano, but back to the time of the eruption. Betsy only has one hour to figure what happened and try to save him. It was a really good story. It was not on my list of science books, but it will be now! My students will enjoy reading this book almost as much as I have.