Still in print
after all these years!

This was what the original cover looked like when the book first came out in 1971.

I traveled to the state of Michoacán in Mexico to see the volcano for myself.
I visited the new village and talked to people who remembered that eventful day.

Once there was a farmer
who lived in Mexico.
He lived in
a little village,
in a house which had
only one room.
The farmer was not happy.
"Nothing ever happens,"
he said.

Then one day something happened - something unbelievable - something that
had never happened before
to anyone anywhere in the world:
a hill of fire began to grow
in his cornfield!

Please e-mail me with any questions or comments.

translator

HILL OF FIRE

Reading Rainbow Featured Selection

Notable Children's Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC)

BACKGROUND

In 1943 a remarkable thing happened in the state of Michoacán in Mexico. A Tarascan farmer who was plowing in his field discovered what was to become a volcano.

REVIEWS

The Harper I Can Read Books happily adds another star to this well-established series... Thomas Lewis, with an able assist from Joan Sandin, recreate the drama surrounding the erruption of Paricutin volcano in Mexico in 1943.

Publishers Weekly

Whether first or second graders know or care about the Mexican volcano, Parícutin, doesn't matter. Here is basically a human story, sympathetically and expressively illustrated with simple lines and warm colors, that will give readers understanding of a people, as well as a good story based on fact.

School Library Journal

HILL OF FIRE

Reading Rainbow Featured SelectionNotable Children's Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC)

Reading Rainbow Featured Selection

Notable Children's Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC)