Oil Spill! (Let's Read-And-Find-Out Science, Stage 2)

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

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