Earthquake Terror - Softcover

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.

Gr 5-7-Jonathan and his family are the only campers on Magpie Island, and the deserted grounds make Jonathan ill at ease. Soon after they arrive, his mother slips and injures her ankle. Jonathan offers to stay at the campground with his six-year old physically handicapped sister so his parents can get to the hospital quickly. Just after they leave, a devastating earthquake strikes, destroying Abby's walker, the camper, and the only bridge off the island. The island quickly floods, and the children and their loyal dog are stranded without supplies. Throughout his ordeal, Jonathan displays the patience, courage, and tenacity of one far older than 12, facing each new crisis with resolve. Youngsters may find it hard to comprehend how the family could be so out of touch, but Peg Kehret wrote this story (Puffin, 1998) before cell phones became a necessity. How Jonathan manages to save himself and his nearly helpless sister is a tense tale, and the danger increases with each chapter. Charles Carroll's reading, although clear and precise, doesn't aptly convey the story's tone of suspense and danger. Still, fans of adventure novels will be delighted as the youngsters battle to stay alive.-MaryAnn Karre, West Middle School, Binghamton, NYα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.