Hill of Fire

Every day was the same for Pablo's father. He woke up early every morning and ate the same thing for breakfast. Then he went to his field. Every night he was very tired. "Nothing ever happens," he said.

Then one day it was different. Something happened to Pablo and his father that had never before happened to two people anywhere in the world: a hill of fire began to grow in their cornfield.

For beginning readers, here is the exciting story of Paricutin, the volcano that erupted in Mexico in 1943. It is also the story of the brave and proud villagers who survived the catastrophe. Joan Sandin's magnificent illustrations were sketched at the volcano site.

Joan Sandin is the illustrator of many books for young readers, including the "I Can Read" books Small Wolf, written by Nathaniel Benchley, Snowshoe Thompson, written by Nancy Smiler Levinson, and her own The Long Way Westward and The Long Way to a New Land. Ms. Sandin lives in Tucson, AZ.