Life on Surtsey by Loree Griffin Burns - ESSENTIAL

Burns, Loree Griffin Life on Surtsey: Iceland’s Upstart Island (Scientists in the Field), 68 pages.  Houghton Mifflin, 2017  $19.  Content: G

In 1963, a volcano erupted off the coast of Iceland and when things finally calmed down three years later, a new island had been born.  Named after the Iclandic god of fire, Surtsey was declared off-limits to tourists and for 54 years has been inhabited only by scientists.  Erling Olaffson has spent parts of 45 years studying life on Surtsey.  He and other scientists have spent years analyzing how life migrates to and survives on this new land.

This is Burns fourth book for this series.  Like the many others of the set, she shows how modern scientists are tackling challenges and bringing new, important information to our world.  I still thinks this series would make excellent textbooks for a science class on any level.

EL, MS – ESSENTIAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher