Earth Science
A Look at Minerals
A surprisingly interesting (and fairly in-depth) picture book that introduces children to minerals - which include metals and gems. Many full color photos highlight and enhance the text, which covers topics such as Mohs' Scale of Mineral Hardness, ice crystals, cleavage planes (the way minerals break when cut) of various minerals, metals in their natural state, special metals like gold, silver and platinum, how various minerals form and what they look like in their natural state. My children and I found this to be quite an interesting book.
A Look at Rocks
I really didn't expect to get much out of a children's picture book on rocks. Rocks are, well, rocks! I was wrong. Mrs. Kittinger has done a fine job in presenting various types of rock, how they are formed in nature (with a significant emphasis on volcanoes) and the various fascinating and often beautiful varieties of rocks. There are many stunning photos and fascinating statistics on rock-related items from Mount Rushmore (and it's lesser known "sister-sculpture" - Stone Mountain - of some "monumental" figures of the Confederacy) to the Grand Canyon to amazing volcano formations. The book also includes a glossary, an index, suggestions for further reading and internet resources for rock collectors.
Caves and Caverns
Close to the Wind
Earth Science for Every Kid
In the Van Cleave tradition, this book presents 101 experiments that are simple, yet informative, and can easily be performed in the home. The book covers seven major segments: Earth in Space, Rocks and Minerals, Crustal Movement, Erosion, Atmosphere, Weather and Oceans. Some experiments are designed to demonstrate, with simple objects, properties of the earth and its components such as "how the composition of the Earth affects its motion" and "how the speed and direction of air affect falling rain." These type of experiments generally cover things which can't be directly experimented with but can be understood through other things. Other experiments determine actual properties by experimenting with salt, water, ice, etc. to more directly understand how they work.
Flash, Crash, Rumble and Roll
This simple, nicely illustrated (cartoon-like pictures) children's book explains important concepts of science in a very easy-to-understand fashion. The reader is introduced to the way thunderclouds form and where thunder and lightning come from. The scientific content is substantial and very accessible. The story line is rounded out with tips for staying safe during a storm. My children have been fascinated by the details about the inside of a thundercloud, how fast sound and light travel, how you can measure the distance thunder travels and more. This title has been a big favorite with all of my children for a number of years and, rather than being made nervous by the dangers mentioned in the book, a little knowledge seems to be a comforting thing.
Copyrights 1985/1999
How We Learned the Earth is Round
A history and science picture book that covers the development of man's understanding of the shape of the earth focusing on the discoveries of the Greeks and on the voyages of Christopher Columbus and Magellan. Currently out-of-print
Journey into Amazing Caves
Lightning
Seymour Simon, famous for his children's science books illustrated with stunning photography, hits another home run with Lightning. This fascinating book details facts and fascinating statistics about lightning with lots of the "wow!" effect that helps keep middle-schoolers interested in science. Did you know that scientists have discovered new types of lightning within the past ten years? How long would the electricity from one bolt of lightning power one lightbulb? These and many more fascinating photos and facts await the reader of this very nice science book. I really like to have these kinds of books around my house to help my children get a lot more out of science than I did as a child.