Books Worth Your While

How Big Is A Foot?
Rolf Myller Dell Publishing Co., Inc., 1991

Age: 4 - 8
The King wants to give the Queen a Bed for her birthday. There is one problem. Beds have not yet been invented, so no one knows how big it should be. Using non-standard units of measurement, how big do they build the bed?

 

Jim and the Beanstalk
Raymond Briggs, Putname Publishing Group, 1997

Age: 4 - 8
Jim climbed a beanstalk and met a giant who lived at the top. The giant couldn't see very well, so Jim measured his head and had glasses made for him. He measured his mouth, and had false teeth made. He measured the rest of the giant's head and had a wig made for him.

 

Spaghetti and Meatballs for All
Marilyn Burns Scholastic, 1997

Age: 4 - 8
As the family reunion starts, tables and chairs are pushed around to make room for all the guests. While Mrs. Comfort's seating plan is ruined, students get a good introduction to perimeter and area.

 

Measuring Penny
Loreen Leady

Age: 4 - 8
Follow the adventures of Lisa as she uses non-standard units of measurement - her dog Penny. Her ear is a cotton swab long, while a basset's ear is three cotton swabs, etc. A light hearted exploration of many forms of measurement that's sure to entertain children as well as entice them to explore the concept of measurement.

 

Stone Soup
Marcia Brown, Aladdin Paperbacks, NY, 1986

Age: 4 - 8
The perennial favorite, read to a generation of children by Captain Kangaroo, the story of three soldiers who manage to cook up a fine soup by cajoling the necessary ingredients from a village of wary French peasants. Caldecott Honor Book; ALA Notable Children's Book. 42 pages

 

Lucky Stone, The
Lucille Clifton, Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1979

Age: 9- 12
Tee listens to her great grandmother's stories about the shiny, black lucky stone which brought good fortune to her ancestors for over a hundred years. 62 pages

 

The Big Rock
Bruce Hiscock, Atheneum Books, NY, 1988

Age: 9- 12
Traces the origin of a granite rock located near the Adirondack Mountains from the birth of the mountains, through earthquakes, erosions, glaciers, etc. 27 pages

 

How To Dig a Hole To the Other Side of The World
Faith McNulty, Harper Collins, NY, 1979

Age: 4- 8
A whimsical adventure story about a journey through the center of the earth by digging about 8,000 miles. Along the way, you see the composition of the earth and find fossils, diamonds, underground water and oil. 32 pages

 

Rocks & Minerals
Sue Fuller, DK Publishing, NY, 1995

Age: Young Adult
Small pocket book giving good overview of the difference between rocks and minerals and how they are formed. Gives a two page description of about 40 of the most common rocks and minerals with good illustrations. Includes charts of hardness. Specific gravity and mineral formulas, 160 pages

 

 

Magic School Bus Inside the Earth, The
Joanna Cole, Scholastic, NY, 1987

Age: 4- 8
Ms. Frizzle's class takes another fantastic field trip where they learn about different kinds of rocks and minerals and the formation of the earth. 40 pages

 

Rock the House, The Case of the Meteorite Menace
Chuck Harwood, McGraw Hill, NY, 1998

Age: 9- 12
"Mayor Schwindle's mansion has been bombarded by a meteor shower! A freaky natural disaster, or the work of an angry citizen with a big rock collection?" states the backcover of this book. The science minded kids from the Kinetic City Super Crew solve this mystery while exploring metoers and taking a vuirtual trip to an asteroid belt. 180 pages

 

Space Rock
Jon Buller & Susan Schade, Random House, 1988

Age: 4- 8
Bob finds a talking rock from outer space which he brings to show and tell. A fun science fiction adventure unfolds as Bob helps the rock return to its planet. 48 pages

 

Magic School Bus Out of This World, The
Joanna Cole, Scholastic, NY, 1996

Age: 4 - 8
Ms. Frizzle's class takes a fantastic field trip through outer space to ward off the huge space rock heading toward Walker Elementary School. They learn about asteroids, comets and other space rocks along the way. 30 pages

 

Everybody Needs a Rock
Byrd Baylor, Aladdin Paperbacks, NY, 1974

Age: 4 - 8
Ten rules for finding a rock. "Not just any rock, Baylor is careful to note, but 'a special rock that you find yourself and keep as long as you can--maybe forever.' . . . As fresh as Baylor's concept are Parnall's striking illustrations."--School Library Journal, 27 pages

 

Iktomi and the Boulder
Paul Goble, Orchard Books, NY, 1992

Age: 4 - 8
Iktomi, a Plains Indian trickster, attempts to defeat a boulder with the assistance of some bats, in this story which explains why theGreat Plains are covered with small stones. 27 pages .

 

Pebble in My Pocket, The
Meredith Hooper, Viking, NY, 1996

Age: 9- 12
The history of a pebble is followed from its time in a volcano to the primordial forests; from there it is stepped on by dinosaurs, dragged by glaciers and picked up by cavepeople. 31 pages

 

Practical Geologist, The
Dougal Dixon, Simon & Schuster, 1992

Via words and pictures, this book explores the Earth's formation and development, the substances that compose the planet, movements within the Earth, and much more. 200 four-color photos; line drawings throughout. 160 pages

 

Fossil Collecting in the Mid-Atlantic States
Jasper Burns, John Hopkins Univ. Press, 1991

The book contains information on over 45 fossil-collecting sites in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Each site description contains detailed directions on how to find the site, what to look for when you get there, and drawings of representative specimens that the author has found there. The drawings help with an initial identification (e.g. "shark's tooth. The book also has very useful advice on what equipment you might need (not much is needed, but the advice and tips are excellent). 201 pages

 

Earth At Hand
Jeffrey C. Callister and Sharon Stroud, compilers,
National Science Teachers Association, 1993

This is a collection of 72 on earth and space science from NSTA's professional journals. The articles focus on classroom activities that can be used to supplement existing earth science curricula from grades 5 - 10. Most activities use simple, readily obtainable materials and supplies. 176 pages