Recommended Reading for Rocks

The following is a list of recommended books that provide a wide range of reading and research resources for this unit. Collect as many as you can for your classroom science library, or provide the list to your school or local librarian.

Books from the Visuals and Books package

The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth

By Joanna Cole; illustrated by Bruce Degen. (2003, Scholastic Inc.)

A humorous account of a teacher who takes her class on a magic school bus into the center of the earth to study rocks and minerals. Packed with pictures and captions, this book will be captivating to elementary rock hounds. This book is used in Lesson 3 to introduce rock formation and rock types.

National Audubon Society First Field Guide: Rocks and Minerals

By Edward Ricciuti and Margaret W. Carruthers. (2003, Scholastic Inc.)

This child-friendly field guide is an excellent resource book. It contains clear, detailed pictures of rocks and minerals for children to use throughout the unit to identify and learn more about samples. The introductory section includes a wealth of helpful background information about many of the topics introduced in the Rocks Unit.

Additional child-friendly field guides

Looking at Rocks: My First Field Guide

By Jennifer Dussling; illustrated by Deborah and Allan Drew-Brook-Cormack. (2001, Grosset & Dunlap)

This is a good field guide to recommend to children who want to become rock hounds. Includes a section for tracking information about the rocks they collect.

Pockets: Rocks & Minerals (Pockets Full of Knowledge)

By Sue Fuller. (1995, DK Publishing Inc.)

This small book is packed with lots of interesting information about rocks and mineral.

Rocks and Minerals (My First Pocket Guide)

By Dr. Paul M. A. Willis; illustrated by Iain McKellar. (1997, National Geographic Society)

This is an age-appropriate field guide with simple, clear information about where you might find each rock or mineral, and details to help identify it. It also contains interesting background information and “field notes” for each rock and mineral.

Rocks and Minerals (Usborne Spotter’s Guides)

By Alan Wooley. (2000, Usborne Publishing Ltd.)

A compact, informative, and child-friendly field guide with large, easy-to-see pictures of each rock and mineral included.

Noteworthy read-alouds

The Big Rock

Written and illustrated by Bruce Hiscock. (1999, Aladdin Library)

Tells the story of the ‘big rock’—a granite boulder millions of years old. Nicely details how even though the dinosaurs and other living things have come and gone, the ‘big rock’ has remained essentially the same. A good read-aloud. This book applies and extends many of the concepts introduced in Lesson 3.

Dave’s Down-to-Earth Rock Shop (MathStart Level 3, Classifying)

By Stuart J. Murphy; illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith. (2000, HarperCollins Children’s Books)

As they consider sorting their rock collection by color, size, type, and hardness, Josh and Amy learn that the same objects can be organized in many different ways. Appropriate reading for early-elementary grades. This book complements the concepts presented in Lesson 2.

Earthsteps: A Rock's Journey Through Time

By Diane Nelson Spickert; illustrated by Marianne D. Wallace. (2000, Fulcrum Publications)

Take a walk back through time as a rock is transformed into a grain of sand over the course of millions of years. The succession of prehistoric life that serves as a backdrop for this transformation offers a wonderful sense of the vast time frame involved and will captivate children who are interested in dinosaurs.

Everybody Needs a Rock

By Byrd Baylor; illustrated by Peter Parnall. (1985, Alladin Paperbacks)

Ten rules are creatively presented to help anyone find the rock just right for them. Because it is so poetically written, this book is ideal for reading aloud; however, independent readers will find it easy to read on their own as well. This book is suggested as an introduction to Lesson 11, the culminating lesson for the unit.

Fossils Tell of Long Ago (Let’s Read-and-Find-Out Science)

By Aliki. (1990 HarperCollins)

With clear and simple explanations, this engaging book explains many of the ways that fossils are formed and what we learn by studying them. Appropriate for early readers. This book will help illustrate and explain the fossilization processes that are explored in Lessons 9 and 10.

How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World

By Faith McNulty; illustrated by Marc Simont. (1990, Scott Foresman)

This charming book offers one boy’s step-by-step instructions on how to dig the deepest hole in the world. Along the way, readers will be amused by his uncanny imagination and rewarded with a wealth of information about the earth below our feet. A lighthearted tangent to the concepts presented in Lesson 3.

The Magic School Bus: Liz Sorts It Out

By Joanna Cole; illustrated by Bruce Degen. (1998, Scholastic, Inc.)

This book for early-elementary readers complements the concepts presented in Lesson 2. In it, Liz the lizard sorts Arnold’s rock collection into groups by color, size, and texture.

The Pebble in My Pocket: A History of Our Earth

By Meredith Hooper; illustrated by Chris Coady. (1999, Viking Children’s Books)

This beautiful and interesting book follows the trail of a single pebble over millions of years. It is beautifully written and good for reading aloud, since some of the concepts will require explanation and discussion. This book applies and extends many of the concepts introduced in Lesson 3.

Professor Curious and the Mystery of the Hiking Dinosaurs

By Yvonne Gil; illustrated by Bonnie Timmons. (1991, Random House)

Professor Curious solves the mystery of how dinosaur footprints got on top of a mountain in the Swiss Alps in this entertaining geology lesson that explains the collision of continents millions of years ago. Lots of fun, cartoon-style illustrations. An enjoyable book to read in conjunction with Lesson 8.

Rocks in His Head

By Carol Otis Hurst; illustrated by James Stevenson. (2002, HarperCollins Children’s Books)

Appropriate for early-elementary readers, but also a great book to read and discuss as a class. In this engaging tale, a girl’s father who collects rocks, much to the disgruntlement of others, follows his heart. His passion for rock collecting enables him to find work in a science museum during the Depression. This book is recommended in Lesson 1 as an inspiration for other budding “rock hounds,” but it would also be interesting and applicable at any point during the unit.

Stone Girl, Bone Girl: The Story of Mary Anning

By Laurence Anholt; illustrated by Sheila Moxley. (1999, Orchard Books)

This delightful picture book with vibrant and colorful illustrations tells the story of a young girl in 18 th century England who finds some of the first fossils of fish and marine reptiles. Kids will be amazed by the story of a girl who gets struck by lightning as an infant, survives, and as a child finds the fossil of one of the world's largest dinosaurs. A great addition to Lesson 8.

Nonfiction books about rocks, minerals, crystals, and gemstones

The Best Book of Fossils, Rocks, and Minerals

By Chris Pellant; illustrated by Ray Grinaway and Chris Forsey. (2000, Kingfisher)

Large and detailed full-color spreads discuss and illustrate a variety of topics, including gems and metals, fossil fuels, and rocks from outer space. Written at an upper-elementary reading level.

Crystaland Gem Eyewitness Books)

By R.F. Symes and R.R. Harding. (1991, Alfred A. Knopf)

With beautiful, full-color and full-size photographs, this book makes a good browsing reference. The text includes interesting facts about rocks, minerals, and gemstones and many historical references.

Crystals and Crystal Gardens You Can Grow (Full-Color First Books)

By Jean Stangl. (1990, The Horn Book Inc.)

An attractive introduction to the subject with black-and-white and color photographs. The book provides scientific explanations about crystal formation, tips for growing crystals, and instructions for many experiments. Contains clear and informative captions.

Gems (Let’s Investigate)

By Adele Richardson. (1998, Creative Education)

Examines the origins and study of gemstones, including facts about mining and jewelry making. Excellent for early-elementary children.

Geology Crafts for Kids: 50 Nifty Projects to Explore the Marvels of Planet Earth

By Alan Anderson, Gwen Diehn, and Terry Krautwurst. (1998, Sterling Publications)

A fun collection of 50 activities and craft projects that teach children about geology topics such as minerals, crystals, volcanoes, erosion, fossils, and more. Includes great full-color illustrations and easy-to-follow directions.

Look at Minerals: From Galena to Gold (First Books)

By Jo S. Kittinger. (1999, Franklin Watts)

Written for upper-elementary students, this book looks at crystals, gemstones, and metals. It shows the structure of minerals and the way they are classified, found, and processed. Excellent photographs and drawings highlight the clear and concise text.

Minerals (Kaleidoscope Earth Science)

By Roy A. Gallant. (2000, Benchmark Books)

This book begins with the question, “Have you ever tasted a mineral?” It examines minerals, rocks, and elements in the natural world and includes an informative section on fossilization. The large-print text is easy to read, the explanations are concise, and the full-page photos are attractive.

Rocks and Minerals (Eyewitness Books)

By Dr. R. F. Symes. (1988, Dorling Kindersley)

The text and photographs in this book examine the creation, importance, erosion, mining, and uses of rocks and minerals. Wonderful for browsing and reference.

Rocks and Minerals (Eyewitness Explorers)

By Steve Parker. (1993, Dorling Kindersley)

An information-packed book with a very accessible format and content level—perfect for early-elementary grades. Also includes numerous suggestions and instructions for hands-on activities. An excellent reference for the unit.

Rocks and Minerals at Your Fingertips

By Judy Nayer; illustrated by Grace Goldberg. (1995, McClanahan Book Company)

A uniquely-shaped book (it’s shaped like a cluster of rocks with pointed edges) that discusses the differences between rocks and minerals, where they come from, and how they are used. The reading level is suitable for early-elementary children.

Super Book on Rocks and Minerals

By Jack Challoner. (1999, Gareth Stevens)

Excellent resource on rocks and minerals, with clear explanations and superb photographs. Topics include crystal shapes, igneous rocks, identifying minerals, erosion, and making fossils, among others. Also contains fun experiments relating to the growth and properties of rocks and minerals.

Nonfiction books about fossils

Collecting Fossils: Hold Prehistory in the Palm of Your Hand

By Steve and Jane Parker. (1998, Sterling Publishing)

While the reading level of this book is beyond most second graders, the wealth of pictures and diagrams makes perusing this book worthwhile. The book also has an excellent section on how and where to look for fossils.

Fossil (Eyewitness Books)

By Paul Taylor. (1990, Dorling Kindersley)

Each page contains many stunning photographs with short and clear captions. Readers at all levels enjoy leafing through the Eyewitness Books. Each book is like a mini-museum between the pages.

Fossils (The Bridgestone Science Library Exploring the Earth)

By Becky Olien. (2001, Bridgestone Books)

Explores the processes that shape the earth and changing geologic features, from plate tectonics to the rocks, soil, minerals, and fossils we find on the earth’s surface. The text is easy-to-read and the photographs are rich and colorful.

Other recommended books

How Much Is a Million?

By David Schwartz; illustrated by Steven Kellogg. (1993, Harper Trophy)

A book to read aloud to children to help them conceptualize the immensity of numbers, such as a million, billion, and trillion, that come up when talking about the geologic time scale and the age of rocks.

If You Find a Rock

By Peggy Christian; illustrated by Barbara Hirsch Lember. (2000, Harcourt)

This book celebrates rocks everywhere—as well as the mysterious and wonderful places they are found. It suggests to children the rewards of taking a closer look at these often overlooked natural objects.

Let’s Go Rock Collecting (Let’s-Read-And-Find-Out Science)

By Roma Gans; illustrated by Holly Keller. (1997, HarperCollins Juvenile Books)

This book for early-elementary readers touches upon many of the topics that are introduced in the Rocks Unit in simple, child-friendly text that is appropriate for reading aloud or reading alone. Many kids will be caught by the idea that “the oldest things you can collect are rocks.”

Medusa

By Deborah Nourse Lattimore. (2000, HarperCollins Juvenile Books)

A retelling of the Greek myth of Medusa, a vain beauty turned by Athena’s curse into a hideous monster so ugly that anyone who looked at her turned to stone, and of Perseus’ quest to kill her in order to save his mother’s life. A good read-aloud book, suitable for independent readers.

There are many retellings of this myth for children. Look for other versions if the one listed above isn’t available.

The Mystery of the Mammoth Bones and How It Was Solved

By James Cross Giblin. (1999, HarperCollins)

When giant bones are found on a farm in New York State in 1801, no one knows what sort of creature they came from. American Revolutionary War hero, artist, and self-taught scientist Charles Willson Peale organizes an expedition to find out. A scientific thriller appropriate for reading aloud.

Perseus

By Warwick Hutton. (1993, Macmillan Publishing)

A retelling of the Greek myth of Perseus and how he slew Medusa, a monster so ugly that all who gazed upon her were turned to stone. Clearly written with rich watercolor illustrations.