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lacywolfe's review against another edition
4.0
Great book for budding geologists (or scientists in general). Explores different types of rocks and how they're used by humans and animals. Beautiful illustrations.
abigailbat's review against another edition
3.0
Sigh. This book is so beautiful and has a simple main text with additional information on each spread, making it a great choice to share with kids. It includes interesting facts, giving young readers a basic overview of geology and how rocks are used by people and animals. However, there are no sources cited, which breaks my heart. :(
katrinadreamer's review against another edition
4.0
As a kid, I would have loved this book as I came from a family of Rockhounds and was surrounded by cool rocks…and even as an adult I found it lovely. The book has gorgeous illustrations and is filled with interesting rock facts.
One caveat: as a reading intervention teacher, I found that the choice to use cursive for the main text may mean it isn’t accessible to dyslexic students (unless they’ve learned cursive) or those with visual processing disabilities. And cursive isn’t always taught anymore. I understand it’s visual appeal, but it always irks me when art directors and artists make choice like that.
One caveat: as a reading intervention teacher, I found that the choice to use cursive for the main text may mean it isn’t accessible to dyslexic students (unless they’ve learned cursive) or those with visual processing disabilities. And cursive isn’t always taught anymore. I understand it’s visual appeal, but it always irks me when art directors and artists make choice like that.
laura_mcloughlin's review against another edition
3.0
Less interesting than the butterfly book (maybe rocks are just less interesting than butterflies) but the pictures are still lovely and the information is good. Kids interested in rocks and minerals should love this book.
asey's review against another edition
3.0
This book is very informative and the pictures are beautiful. My only criticisms are the fonts that they used. It makes it a bit hard to read and a FULL picture of Michelangelo's David. Recommend for children 8 to 12.
hsquared's review against another edition
5.0
While most of us think of rocks as static, Aston shows readers the varied and changing (albeit slowly) nature of rocks. Through colorful watercolor illustrations and poetic language, young readers will learn about how rocks are formed, where they come from, and their varied shapes and sizes and mineral content. Lots of possibilities for this one in core knowledge and science curriculum.
blacklake's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of the best children's nonfiction picture books I've ever checked out of the library. It's wonderful and beautiful. My daughter couldn't stop exclaiming over it, and asking to start her own rock collection. All of the books in this series are just outstanding--we started with the one about butterflies.
cjeziorski's review against another edition
5.0
This is a beautiful book about rocks; the illustrations are stunning. You can read this text at several levels. The most basic is a simple narrative story; then, there is very detailed information under the pictures. It would be good for teaching text features as well.
toad_maiden's review against another edition
5.0
I cannot wait to check out the other books in Aston's series! This one is full of solid science presented in the most lyrical, accessible way. Aston knows just how much information to give in order to pique the reader's curiosity. Also, these illustrations are truly outstanding. It seems impossible that one could paint something so stolid as rocks with ephemeral watercolors to any great effect, but this book proves it possible. The luminosity of the agates and geodes is incredible, and even boring old schist come to life beneath Long's brush. This will be a classic.