A Rock Can Be

A Rock Can Be
by Laura Purdie Salas; illus by Violeta Dabija
32 pages; ages 4-7
Millbrook Press, 2015

theme: environment, poetry

A rock is a rock.
It's sand, pebble, stone.
Each rock tells a story,
a tale all its own.

I love Laura Purdie Salas's "can be" series (Water Can Be, A Leaf Can Be) so I was excited to see a new book about rocks. What fun! A rock can be a mountain, a fountain, a skimmer, a trimmer.

What I like love about this book: Laura's lyrical writing. The wonderful examples of what a rock can be. The invitation to go out and see for ourselves, to discover what else a rock can be.

I also love the back matter - four pages in which Salas explains how rocks are used to make fountains and play games, and how rocks are formed deep within the earth and erupt as lava. I love that there's a glossary and further reading (including a Rock and Minerals guide). What fun!

Beyond the Book:

Go on a Rock Hunt. There are rocks everywhere: at the beach, along the roadside, in a river, or in your backyard. Collect a few different kinds and look at them closely. What colors are they? Are they smooth or rough? Do they sparkle? What do they look like when they're wet?

Find out what your state rock - or mineral - is. My state rock is garnet.

Find out more about volcanoes. Here's a video of how volcanoes erupt (by USGS)

Dig for fossils. We often find brachiopods and crinoid stems in our garden. Some, luckier people, find trilobites or bits of dinosaur bone in their back yards.

Take a field trip - to a museum or mineral show. Draw a picture of any interesting rocks you find.

Dance to rock music. This doesn't have anything to do with geology, but your parents will be delighted if you ask them to turn on the radio to their favorite rock station and show you a few cool moves.

Today's review is part of the STEM Friday roundup. Drop by STEM Friday blog for more science books and resources. We're also joining PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books.  Review copy from publisher.