Product Description

Explains why oil spills occur and how they are cleaned up and suggests strategies for preventing them in the future.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #432867 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

From Booklist
Ages 5-8. Beginning with the events and effects of the Exxon Valdez disaster, Berger introduces children to the causes of oil spills, the ecological damage they cause, and the ideas and technologies developed to deal with them. Although the text is simple and clear, it's sometimes choppy: "Chemicals make the oil less harmful. But they add poisons to the water." Does cutting the sentence in two and treating the subordinate clause like a sentence really make it easier to read? Subtle in texture and deep in tone, the colorful artwork effectively illustrates marine animals and oil tankers; there are also diagrams of cleanup operations, maps, and fanciful ideas (the "1,000 big swimming pools" that could be filled with oil spilled from the Exxon Valdez). The book ends with suggestions for preventing oil spills, from conserving energy at home to writing letters to members of Congress requesting better oil transport legislation. From the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series, a good introduction to the subject. See Lauber, below, for another series title. Carolyn Phelan

About the Author
Melvin Berger is the author of more than 200 books for children. Among his Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science titles are Germs Make Me Sick! illustrated by Marilyn Hafner, and Chirping Crickets illustrated by Megan Lloyd. Mr Berger lives in East Hampton, New York, with his wife.

Customer Reviews

Great book with lots of great info
We just read this book as a read aloud for science in our homeschool. We learning alot about oil spills and the damage they can cause. At the end of the book was the idea for kids to write to Senators about laws for oil tankers and such. My son and I plan to do this. This is a great lesson on how kids can be involved and can make a diffrence in the world today.

Great with oil spill lab
This book is a perfect hook for the classic oil spill in a pie-pan simulation lab. Stop reading aloud before the clean-up methods and have students explore their own clean up theories. Then debrief the lab by reading the rest of the book aloud and discussing.