Library Book: Earthquake (Avenues) - Hardcover

Dr. Short is a division director at the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) in Washington, D.C. She has worked as a teacher, trainer, researcher, and curriculum/materials developer. Her work at CAL has concentrated on the integration of language learning with content-area instruction. Through several national projects, she has conducted research and provided professional development and technical assistance to local and state education agencies across the United States. She directed the ESL Standards and Assessment Project for TESOL and co-developed the SIOP model for sheltered instruction.

Dr. Short's monographs include: Extend Your Students' Reach and Move Them Toward Independence, Base Your ESL Instruction in the Content Areas, Reach for the Common Core, Structural Supports for English Learners, Comprehensive and Responsive Assessment, and Developing Academic Literacy in Adolescents.

K-Gr 2-This narrative follows a child and her family from their severely damaged home in Chinatown to the relative safety of Golden Gate Park on the day of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Unfortunately, most of the dramatic tension such a day would engender has been lost in overly cautious prose. The concluding author's note is far more interesting. It contains fascinating details (the mother and grandmother had bound feet, which hindered their progress to safety) and factual information (the original death count excluded women and children, Native Americans, African Americans, and Japanese and Chinese immigrants because they were not on the books as voters or property owners). Illustrations utilize a somber palette of browns and grays. The buildings of the city will be disappointing to readers who are familiar with San Francisco because they lack the distinctive and recognizable style of the city's architecture. Named sites, such as Portsmouth Square, lack identifying characteristics, rendering the art generic rather than site specific. Even the figures seem generic, devoid of individual personalities. Although this story is based on the author's mother's experience, it lacks the spark of life.

Dorian Chong, School of Library and Information Science, San Jose State University, CA

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