A Stone Sat Still

A Stone Sat Still
by Brendan Wenzel
56 pages; ages 3-5
Chronicle Books, 2019

theme: nature, perception

A stone sat still / with water, grass, and dirt
and it was as it was / where it was in the world.

The stone was dark, light, smooth, rough, red, green, purple, blue – at least to the different animals that come upon the stone. Each perceives the stone based on how they interact with it.

What I like about this book: I love how Brendan Wenzel looks at a stone from so many points of view. For an ant following a pheromone trail, the stone is part of a map. For a tiny red mite surrounded by a slimy snail trail, the stone becomes a maze. I like how time passes, and the stone – once a landmark for migrating birds – is worn by age, surrounded by water, adopted by an ocean.

Beyond the Books:

Find a rock or stone on one of your travels. Maybe it is in a park, or your back yard. Sit with that stone and explore its texture, its size. If it is big, are there small creatures climbing on it? Are lichens or plants growing on it?

Get to know the rocks in your backyard. Here’s a good place to start.

Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Exploring Nitty Gritty Planet Earth with the Dirtmeister

Dirtmeister's Nitty Gritty Planet Earth
by Steve Tomecek
128 pages; ages 8-12
National Geographic Kids, 2015

If you want to know all about rocks, minerals, fossils, earthquakes, volcanoes - and even dirt - then dig into this book. Chapters begin with some cartoonish introductions and then delve into the science of.... our planet.

Steve Tomecek, aka "the Dirtmeister", is a geologist who studies the blood and guts - er, the strata - of the Earth. He begins at the most logical place: wa-a-ay back when the earth was nothing more than spinning dust.

To get a feel for how geologists "tell time", he takes us on a field trip down the Grand Canyon, where we can see layers and layers of sedimentary rock laid down over the eons, and explains how scientists use radioactive decay to determine the age of rocks. In addition to learning about the innards of the Earth we also learn about the bling: the minerals and gems and shiny metals that can be found within the crust. Plus the volcanoes and erosion and plate techtonics.

Scattered throughout the pages are "Dirtmeister nuggets - bits of info that add to our understanding of geology - and short bios of scientists who've studied the earth. Like the guy who discovered that the continents are not staying put, but are drifting about.

For teachers & homeschoolers, there's a page at the back that lists STEM science standards, and for everyone there's a handy index. (I love indexes!)

Today we're joining the roundup over at the Nonfiction Monday blog where you'll find even more book reviews. Review copy provided by the publisher.