Rocks and Minerals

August 1, 2012
Grades 5-8 More like compact encyclopedias than anything one might read straight through, the books in the Pocket Genius series cover their subjects efficiently and with plenty of eye-catching visuals. Rocks and Minerals opens with an explanation of the characteristics that distinguish minerals from rocks, some basic geological information, and tips and tools of the rock-collecting trade. The bulk of the book is then taken up with a catalog of different kinds of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks and minerals like native elements, oxides, and silicates. Each boxed profile gives a short description of characteristics and lists attributes like grain size, color, hardness, and transparency. Each book closes with relevant fact lists and a helpful glossary. You won't replace your existing collections with these books, but they make for handy, one-stop reference sources for student researchers and amateur fact hounds.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)