REVIEW:
This informational book covers the topic of rocks and minerals in a colorful and easy-to-read way. The book is divided up unto three chapters, covering rocks, minerals, and geologists. Each page is colorful, full of real pictures of rocks and minerals, as well as diagrams or graphs to enhance the concepts. For example, a diagram of Earth's core, mantle and crust helps readers easily picture the layers of the Earth. In addition, each chapter focuses on "smart words", which are the vocabulary words for that given chapter. These words are included in a box on each page with their definition, as well as highlighted when the word is used in the text. Random tidbits, labeled as "smart facts", are also included in this book, which make learning interesting and fun. A glossary and index are at the end of the book, which teaches students to learn how to find information they need to find.

GENRE: Informational

MEDIA: pictures, graphs, diagrams

USES:
(1) This book could be used for a research project on rocks and/or minerals at the end of a unit.
(2) This book can also be used for students to explore different topics during independent reading. It would be fun to compile a bunch of books, including this one, that pertain to rocks/minerals, as well as bring in rocks and minerals, and create a station for students to explore this topic even further. ( )