Rocks, Minerals & Gems - Softcover

Smith, Miranda; Callery, Sean

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0545947197 ISBN 13: 9780545947190

Publisher: Scholastic Nonfiction, 2016

Synopsis

Rocks - and the glittering minerals they're made of - are everywhere: the walls of your room, the cars you travel in, the mountains you climb, and the planet you live on are all rocks!

In Rocks, Minerals, and Gems, readers will learn about hundreds of rocks, minerals, crystals, and gems that were forged by the most powerful events in prehistory. Explore what specimens look like and how they're used today--readers can use the information to identify rocks and minerals themselves and open up a spectacular new world. Find out all about star stones and cat's eyes, megagems, and phantom quartz. Discover which rocks fluoresce, which mineral once poisoned an emperor, and which gems are the rarest in the world! Features a beautiful cover with special effects!

About this title

About the Author

Miranda Smith is an experienced editor who has written many books for both children and adults on subjects ranging from sharks and the human body to ancient Egypt and courgettes. Having raised three children in east London, she still lives in the family home with her husband and two cats.
Sean Callery is a teacher and an author of fiction and nonfiction for kids.

Reviews

Gr 5–8—A browser's delight but less useful for reference, this hefty album features hundreds of sharply reproduced close-up photos of geological specimens—including fossils, meteorites, China's terra-cotta army, and amber with small animals inside. The contents, arranged in no particular order within each of the three titular sections, include just over 100 entries ranging in scope from copper and coral to arrays of glittering gems in both cut and natural states. Every specimen is painstakingly labeled, and each full entry also lists descriptive comments, notes on uses in art or industry, and selected technical data, such as specific gravity, cleavage, and "crystal system." This information is presented in an unsystematic, abbreviated jumble that will be indigestible to readers who are still hazy on what a "transition metal" is and, for that matter, even the difference between a rock and a mineral. Additionally, the glossary and index are far from comprehensive. Active young rock hounds may find this volume fun to flip through, but for collection and identification purposes Ronald Bonewitz's Rocks and Minerals or any similar handbook will do better service. VERDICT Dazzling photos, and lots of them, but not a primary purchase.—John Peters, Children's Literature Consultant, New York City

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic Nonfiction
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0545947197
• ISBN 13: 9780545947190
• Binding: Flexibound
• Number of pages: 224