The ground beneath your feet is solid, right? After all, how could we build houses and bridges if the land was moving all the time? Actually, the ground beneath us really is moving very slowly all the time! In Fault Lines and Tectonic Plates: Discover What Happens When the Earth’s Crust Moves, readers ages 9 through 12 learn what exactly is going on under the dirt.

When slowly drifting continents bump up against each other along fault lines we experience earthquakes, volcanoes, and tidal waves! Mountains and trenches are visible results of the slow movement of the earth’s crust, as tectonic plates create the landscape of our world over time.

With science-minded projects such as a homemade earthquake “shake table” and edible tectonic boundaries, this book makes the complex and fascinating topic of plate tectonics accessible for kids. Readers learn the geological reasons behind earthquakes and also practical ways of behaving in those types of natural disasters. Links to online primary sources and videos make concepts clear and encourage kids to maintain a healthy curiosity in the topic. Guided reading levels and Lexile measurements place this title with appropriate audiences.