Into the Volcano: A Volcano Researcher at Work

by Donna Donovan-O'Meara and Donna O'Meara

Book Overview

In a helicopter with no doors, she hovers over a lava lake the size of two football fields --- then lands! She runs through clouds of scalding steam, dodging lava bombs, to photograph glowing hot lava as it pours into the sea. She sets up camp on the edge of a volcano's cone, only to be hit with hurricane-force winds, poisonous gases and acidic ash.Witness a typical day in the life of Donna O'Meara --- volcano researcher, writer and photographer...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1553376935
• ISBN13: 9781553376934
• Release Date: February 2007
• Publisher: Kids Can Press
• Length: 56 Pages
• Weight: 0.53 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 10.0" x 8.9"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Fascinating story.

Why anyone would do this for a living, I don't know. But finally someone has given a detailed account of what it's like to be a volcanologist. Her story makes volcanoes even more interesting than they used to be. My son didn't want to put this book down.

MEDIA REVIEW

This student review appeared in:, June 8, 2005 Reviewer:This student review appeared in: Odyssey Adventures in Science-- May 2005 A Cobblestone Publication 30 Grove Street Suite C Peterborough, New Hampshire 03458 PAGE 48 DEPARTMENT: KIDS PICKS! REVIEW BY: SOPHIA LIEBENSON-MORSE AND ANNA BONATTO, GRADE 7 SOUTH MEADOW SCHOOL, PETERBOROUGH Into the Volcano: Donna O'Meara a Volcano Researcher at Work ( Kids Can Press 2004) The first thing that drew our attention to this book was its pictures. As we flipped through the pages we found ourselves wanting to read more because of the beautiful and colorful photographs. When we saw something new (such as a field of red hot lava) , we were prompted to read and discover and feed our curiosity. This book helped us get a better understanding of volcanoes and their amazing eruptions. Into the Volcano offers a brief background of the author, Donna O'Meara. In the beginning of the book, the author talks about her first experiences with volcanoes. ( She also talks about her marriage and her dog!) Each chapter introduces the different volcanoes she has explored. O'Meara explains about all the different types of magma and how it breaks through the earth's crust. We thought it was very interesting to read about someone who has experienced such amazing things, and it's not common for an author to talk about his or her own personal life. The stunning pictures in the book helped us to understand the text better. The photographs are shot from an up-close perspective, which makes you feel like you are standing right there! If you are a visual learner , this is a very good book to read. If we had a class assignment about volcanoes, this book would be great to get good information out of. We would like it to be in our science class-room. We think our teacher would be a very good audience for its materials. She loves to read about volcanoes and their fascinating but deadly eruptions. This book is for her!! _____________________________________________     From the Chicago Tribune May 2005, June 8, 2005 Reviewer:CHICAGO TRIBUNE HERALD CHILDREN'S CORNER By Mary Harris Russell. Mary Harris Russell, who teaches English at Indiana University Northwest, reviews children's books each week for the Tribune Published May 1, 2005 By Donna O'Meara Kids Can Press, $16.95 Ages 10-14 years Or, how I learned to love and fear volcanos, or, do you want to be a volcanologist? Some books designed to explain science careers can be deadly dull. This one is not, partly because Donna O'Meara emphasizes from the start that deadly is just what this career could be. She tells of Katia Krafft, a successful volcanologist for 20 years until the day she and her husband were killed in a pyroclastic flow from Japan's Mt. Unzen. (And yes, the book will teach you about pyroclastic flows). The photographs, by O'Meara and her husband, Stephen, are memorable, and the text conveys a great deal of information about the different kinds of volc

Excellent!

"Hawaii's Kilauea volcano rumbles under my feet with thunder I feel in my stomach. The air reeks of burning metal. A towering dark steam cloud looms over me. Without warning, a football-sized chunk of gooey lava drops out of the cloud and plops on the ground near me. I duck and run as more hissing red chunks spatter everywhere. These "lava bombs" could crush a skull as if it were an eggshell. What on Earth am I doing here, on the world's most active volcano?" What O'Meara is doing there is research. Volcanoes are her passion. Along with husband Steve, O'Meara has traveled the world studying and photographing volcanoes. What sets this book apart from others on the same topic are O'Meara's personal stories. In the chapter titled "Walk on the Wild Side," for example, O'Meara recounts her attempts to photograph-from the edge of a cliff-a lava tube pouring orange lava into the ocean. Her words and images combine to paint a vivid, compelling tale of both adventure and serious science. Incorporated throughout the text are beautifully illustrated sidebars filled with factual information. Readers will learn about volcano types, pyroclastic flows, types of lava and more. Along the way they will also learn about O'Meara-about how she returned to college at age 32, fell in love with volcanology, and dedicated her life to studying them. A glossary and well-done index are included. If volcanoes are a part of your curriculum, you must have at least one copy of Donna O`Meara's Into the Volcano in your classroom. Extremely accessible, informative, and entertaining, this is non-fiction at its best. Highly recommended. Suitable for district-wide purchase.