The Rocking Book of Rocks An Illustrated Guide to Everything Rocks, Gems, and Minerals

From “What is a rock?” to dinosaur fossils and meteorites, this stunning book explores everything you ever wanted to know about rocks and minerals. With its sparkling cover, out-of-this-world artwork from Anna Alanko, and expert content written by two geologists, this is the book all rock-crazy kids need.

Rocks are all around us, from explosive volcanoes, magnificent mountains, and sandy deserts, to muddy sea floors, winding river valleys, and even asteroids in outer space! They are also in our computers, smartphones, medicines, buildings, airplanes, and space shuttles. Understanding how rocks form helps us to understand how the Earth and the solar system work, and how the Earth has changed over millions of years and how it might look in the future. This dazzlingly illustrated guide covers every aspect of this important topic:

• Igneous rocks
• Sedimentary rocks
• Fossils
• Metamorphic rocks
• Space rocks
• Gemstones

Did you know that there is a bus-sized potassium crystal feldspar in Russia? Or that most of the gold, silver and platinum found at the Earth’s surface is thought to have arrived on meteorites from outer space? Complete with fascinating side notes, an illustrated explanation of the rock cycle, a geological timeline, beautiful images of a vast array of rocks and gems, and a helpful glossary at the back, The Rocking Book of Rocks will captivate and astound rock-lovers of all ages.

INTRODUCTION
What is a rock? 6
What is a mineral? 7
The structure of the Earth 8
Geological timeline 10
The rock cycle 13
 
IGNEOUS ROCKS
What is an igneous rock? 14
Where do igneous rocks
come from? 16
Intrusive igneous rocks 18
Extrusive igneous rocks 20
Igneous minerals 22
World wonders 24
 
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
What are sedimentary rocks? 30
Clastic sedimentary rocks 32
Chemical sedimentary rocks 34
Organic sedimentary rocks 36
Identifying sedimentary
rocks 36
World wonders 40
 
FOSSILS
What is a fossil? 46
How do fossils form? 48
Invertebrate fossils 50
Vertebrate fossils 52
 
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
What are metamorphic rocks? 54
How do they form? 56
How do the rocks transform? 58
Metamorphic minerals 62
 
SPACE ROCKS
All about space rocks 64
Meteorites 66
 
GEMSTONES
What is a gemstone? 70
Geodes 72
Diamonds 74
Spotting guide 76
Opals 78
Corundum 80
Beryl and tourmaline 82
Quartz gemstones 84
Colorful jewels 86
Organic gemstones 88
Precious metals 90
Useful metals 92
 
GLOSSARY 94