Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens
by Rebecca E. Barone
Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens by Rebecca E. Barone is assigned in US schools at grades 4–8. It appears across 1 curriculum reference and 1 state, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.
This page shows where Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.
- Grade range
- Grades 4–8
- Age range
- Ages 9–13
- Pages
- 146
- Reading time
- about 2h 40m (est.)
- First published
- 2024
- Genre
- Nonfiction
- ISBN-13
- 9781250881649
Where to find this book
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About this book
The dramatic true story of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens — the scientists who warned of it, the people who lived through it, and the survivors. Rebecca E. Barone's narrative nonfiction reads like a thriller. Nominated for the 2025-2026 Maine Student Book Award (grades 4-8), the statewide reading list Maine students read from and vote on.
Why widely assigned
This Nonfiction title, typically at grades 4–8. Written in the 2020s; pairs with curriculum units on science and history; cited across 1 curriculum framework.
Content notes
disaster
Where this book is assigned
Maine Student Book Award
- recommended·4th grade · Mainesource: 2025-2026 Maine Student Book Award Reading List (grades 4-8)
- recommended·5th grade · Mainesource: 2025-2026 Maine Student Book Award Reading List (grades 4-8)
- recommended·6th grade · Mainesource: 2025-2026 Maine Student Book Award Reading List (grades 4-8)
- recommended·7th grade · Mainesource: 2025-2026 Maine Student Book Award Reading List (grades 4-8)
- recommended·8th grade · Mainesource: 2025-2026 Maine Student Book Award Reading List (grades 4-8)
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The OutsidersS.E. Hinton · 750L
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee · 870L
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Common questions
- What grade level is Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens?
- Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 4–8. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
- How long does it take to read Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens?
- It takes about 2h 40m to read Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens (146 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 160 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens?
- Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens appears on reading lists for Maine Student Book Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens banned in schools?
- Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.
- What themes does Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens explore?
- Central themes in Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens include science, history, survival, nature. These themes match how the book is discussed in most curriculum guides and AP Literature prompts.
Why this book is on this list
Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.
- Lexile measure
- Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
- Grade band
- Grades 4–8 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- Cited in 1 state ELA framework or DOE list (see citations above).
- Removal / banning records
- No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- Tagged for: book-club.