3^rd Grade and Up

Josh and his mom are escaping a crisis back home when they fly across the country to stay with their cousins in California. It’s a strange time for Josh. But he and his cousin Holly become fast friends as they explore the huge forest surrounding Holly’s house.

The one day the cousins find themselves in the path of a fast-moving firestorm, a super-heated monster that will soon destroy millions of acres of wilderness and possibly much more.

Josh needs to face the family crisis burning him up inside, but first he and Holly have to survive the flames blazing all around them…

This is the second book in the series to feature a fire as the disaster, the first one being The Great Chicago Fire, 1871. And as of now, this is the most current disaster in the series so far. Let’s hope that nothing too horrible happen in the future.

Since I live in California, this disaster hits close to home.  From the fires we get the ash and the horrible air quality.  It’s hard to even be outside because the ash is everywhere.

The story explains why wildfires keep getting worse and how they will continue to get worse in upcoming years. Climate change and human interferences are the two main reasons. Parts of the world, like California, are getting hotter and drier. Humans are getting more and more careless, like building houses in places that used to be wild, smoking while hiking, and setting off explosives in an area known for easily catching on fire.

In conclusion, this is another great story that is terrifying and informative at the same time.

In twenty books, Lauren Tarshis has written about wars, ships sinking, animal attacks, earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, tornados, volcanic eruptions, blizzards, and tsunamis. What disaster will she be writing about next? You’re guess is as good as mine. My mom’s hoping for a Dust Bowl story and I’m hoping for another World War Two story or another animal attack story.

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact about Forest Fires

Forest fires can travel faster uphill than downhill.