Islands

Children's Literature - Joyce Rice

When we think of islands, we often think of the beautiful state of Hawaii and its lush green foliage. There are many other groups of islands in the world. Greenland is one of the world's biggest islands, about three times larger than Texas. Because wind and waves, often a part of large storms, can cause islands to form or to disappear, new islands continue to be discovered. Just as lava erupting from a volcano can form a mountain over time, so lava erupting from a volcano can form an island when it piles the lava on the ocean floor. The Hawaiian Islands were formed in this way. Part of the series "Earthforms," this series teaches the reader about different land forms, using quick facts and lots of photographs. The inclusion of bold print in the text to identify terms that are defined in the glossary is helpful. An index, a glossary, a supplemental reading and Internet site page make this a series worth looking at for older elementary collections and middle school classrooms with reluctant readers. Internet sites are reached by viewing Facthound.com, a database that has already researched the sites and classified them according to age appropriateness. The code needed for accessing this web site is given at the back of the book.