Earthquake Terror - Hardcover

Kehret, Peg

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0525652264 ISBN 13: 9780525652267

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile, 1996

Synopsis

Left at their Magpie Island campsite when their mother is rushed to the hospital with a broken ankle, Jonathan Palmer, his young sister, and the family dog struggle for survival when a terrible earthquake strikes.

About this title

About the Author

Peg Kehret was born in Wisconsin, grew up in Minnesota, spent fourteen years in California, and now lives with her husband in Washington State. They have two grown children, four grandchildren, one dog, and one cat.

Peg's novels for children are regularly recommended by the American Library Association, the International Reading Association, and the Children's Book Council. She has won many state "young reader" or "children's choice" awards. Peg's characters are ordinary kids who find themselves in exciting situations and who use their wits to solve their problems. There is usually humor as well as suspense in her books. A long-time volunteer at The Humane Society, she often uses animals in her stories.

Before she began writing books for children, Peg published plays, short stories, articles, and two books for adults. She is a frequent speaker at conferences for librarians and teachers.

At the age of twelve, Peg had polio and was paralyzed from the neck down. Because she can remember that experience and her year of recovery so vividly, she finds it easy to write in the viewpoint of a twelve or thirteen year old. Most of her main characters are that age. Her autobiography, Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio, won the Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, and the PEN Center USA West Award for Children's Literature.

When she is not writing, Peg likes to watch baseball, bake cookies, and pump her old player piano.

From Booklist

Gr. 4^-7. Prolific author Kehret has a well-deserved reputation for writing good, solid thrillers for middle-graders. Even if the premise is a bit shaky (would parents really leave their children alone on a remote island?) and the ending disappoints just a bit, her latest is no exception. It pits a resourceful 12-year-old against the elements and has him come out on top. Jonathan doesn't think that taking care of his disabled 6-year-old sister, Abby, while his father rushes his mother to a hospital for a broken ankle will be too problematic--until nature intervenes. An earthquake rocks the tiny island where the children are staying, destroying the bridge to the mainland as well as the family's supplies and Abby's walker. Even more frightening is Jonathan's discovery that the quake has caused a nearby river to change its course: water is now rapidly flooding the tiny island. It will be a rare thriller fan who won't want to see what happens. Stephanie Zvirin

About this edition

• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0525652264
• ISBN 13: 9780525652267
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144