Rocks, Rocks, Big and Small (First Facts)

An introduction to rocks, their origins, and their evolution covers such rocks as granite, marble, pumice, fossils, and gemstones

Grade 2-4 --Two books that feature a riddle on the first page with the subject of the book as the answer and unimaginative cartoonlike illustrations. The oversimplified texts touch on many topics within their subject without providing enough detail to fully explain any of them. Fire . . . briefly traces the many uses of fire from cavemen to the contemporary world. The more informative of the two titles, it presents a cursory explanation of electricity and fuel and identifies the dangers of fire. In Rocks . . ., igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks are all identified but these terms are never used. Historical as well as present-day uses of rocks are discussed. The poor quality illustrations negate any possibility of the book being used as a guide for rock identification. R. F. Symes' Rocks & Minerals (Knopf , 1988), while geared to a slightly older audience, will prove far more useful and popular. --Pearl Herscovitch, Univ . of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.