"Too cold!
A cold wave, also called a cold snap,
happens when the temperature drops
far below normal lows in a short period
of time. Cold waves can be dangerous to
humans and animals. They can freeze
water supplies and cause power failures,
which leaves many people without heat."
In one of his last books, Steve Jenkins again turns to numbers and infographics. This time he examines the catastrophes that continue to plague the world. He sets out four categories; earth, weather, life and space. While some of these disasters have been happening for millions of years, he is quick to let his middle years audience know that many are linked to human harm done to the planet without truly understanding the repercussions of their actions. Some cause concern for everyone living on the planet.
The table of contents provides thumbnail sketches and a title for upcoming spreads which cover earthquake, volcano, tsunami, landslide, avalanche, uncommon disasters, hurricane, tornado, flood to name about half of them. As any fans of Mr. Jenkins' work will know, he does his research and presents what he has learned in accessible and informative text.
The first double-page spread shows the effects of one such natural disaster that had both short-and long-term effects on multiple levels. His topic of choice is Mount Tambora, a volcano that exploded in Indonesia in 1815. It is 'the most powerful volcanic eruption in the past 10,000 years'. A timeline at the bottom of the spread tracks the eruption and its aftereffects. Now, he has his readers' attention.
From that first spread, he continues providing detailed descriptions of disasters and their effects from day, to month, to year, and further. Using circles on a graph for earthquakes on a timeline, he shows the names, magnitude and number of lives lost for each - from Shaanxi in China in 1556 (the oldest) to Banda Aceh in Indonesia in 2004 (the latest). A sidebar shows how earthquakes are measured on the Richter Scale.
Readers are only beginning. After learning about the ones named above and more, he concludes with climate change. He clearly explains what has been happening, and will continue to happen now and in the future. Captioned thumbnails, useful sidebars, careful explanations make this a terrific resource for interested readers, and for school libraries.
He adds a glossary and bibliography for further understanding and research.
Steve Jenkins' death in early 2022 is a tremendous loss. His inquisitiveness and concern for conscientious research provided answers to many questions we didn't always know we wanted to ask. His books are some of my favorites, and deserve to be included in home, public and school libraries. They are that good.
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