Will It Blow? Become a Volcano Detective at Mount St. Helens
By Elizabeth Rusch; illustrated by K.E. Lewis
Sasquatch Books; $18.95
48 pp.; ISBN-13: 978-1570615092

Review by Amy Brozio-Andrews

Empowering young readers to do a little detective work on their own, Elizabeth Rusch's Will It Blow? Become a Volcano Detective at Mount St. Helens takes kids behind the scenes of vulcanology with a real-world example that's still relevant, and will be in their world for years to come. She lays out the violent history of Mount St. Helens, the current efforts to monitor the mountain and predict future eruptions, and challenges her readers along the way to see if their reading of the facts matches the scientists' conclusions.

Organized like a training dossier for a private detective, the reader is introduced to the "suspect," Washington State's Mount St. Helens. A brief history of the volcano's existence and past activity, from steam eruptions to spews of ash, rock, and gas, lava flows to mudflows, gives kids get a crash course in the geologic basics. The events leading up to the 1980 eruption are also described. Subsequent chapters outline the primary elements of volcano science, from collecting seismograph readings of earthquakes to monitoring the release of gases from the volcano, physical monitoring and measurements of changes in the mountain's appearance to monitoring lava flow within the mountain with special infrared equipment, and the collection and evaluation of volcanic rocks.

After each chapter, Rush includes related activities for kids that illustrate and support the text. Each clearly lists the needed items and easy-to-follow instructions that require minimal adult help. For example, after talking about the different types of lava flow, kids can pour a spoonful of honey, cooking oil, and pancake syrup onto a pan, and then tilt the pan to see how each substance flows in terms of speed and direction. Each chapter concludes with a recounting of events related to that topic (i.e., reading seismographs from mountain earthquakes) that have occurred within the last few years, asking readers to make the determination about the likelihood of a new eruption. Turning the page reveals the scientists' call, the book concluding with the still-active mountain continuing to erupt beyond most scientists' expectations.

Heavily illustrated with K.E. Lewis' artwork as well as photographs from Mount St. Helens, the book presents hard-core geology in a manner that's easily understandable by young readers. Rusch's writing style is really informal yet informative. She relies on expert opinion and experience to relate her tale of Mount St. Helens, talking to professionals in the field studying this volcano in particular. Real examples -- equipment readings, photographs, etc. -- make the topic come alive, and Rusch's own enthusiasm and passion for the topic is pretty much contagious. Formatting her book like that of a PI's file ratchets up the tension and suspense -- even I was wondering what happens next when reading the book (and I remember the 1980 eruption). Rounding out her book by directing readers to additional print and web resources, Will It Blow? is a great choice for young science enthusiasts.