Amazing resource for young "rockhounds." I have always liked looking at and collecting rocks wherever I go, but I am not a real rockhound, I simply like to look at the rocks because they are pretty. I'm curious, but I really don't care what they are made from. This book is for those interested in learning a little more about their rock treasures and their composition. This book gives a detailed explanation of minerals and how minerals combine to form rocks and the various ways rocks are formed. It's detailed, but it's very clearly explained without large scientific hard-to-understand words. It clearly explains what things a rockhound needs to keep track of to get an identification of the rock they found, and where to start hunting for this treasure. There is an extensive list of rock/mineral descriptions for rockhounds to consult and a place to keep field notes in the back.

There is a lot of good information in this book; Formation of rocks, types, methods for identifying them. It is meant for children (probably ages 8-12). It puts stress on scientific classification, by creating a notebook of all rocks acquired, where, when, color, streak, luster, hardness etc. Although admirable, it is almost certainly not going to be plausible with any real collection. My husband and I have both been collecting rocks since childhood. Neither of us made notebooks, but can tell you what type of rock and where it came from for 90% of our est. 6 tons of rocks.

Rocks! this actually helped me organize some of my minerals and rocks in class. It is very informative and I have decided to get copies of it for my class. The book contains many diagrams that are very colorful. It goes through the steps needed to be able to identify rocks and minerals. it provides information on the rock cycle and how minerals are formed because of it. When you get to the pictures of the specimens they are very detailed and up close.

With Kids who go nuts for Rocks and love figuring out what rocks they have found and if the are unique or just another rock. This book is perfect for kids and even adults who love rockhounding.

The books layout is easy to follow and will help readers learn about how to tell between the different types of rocks and learn the history of the earth at the same time.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of My Awesome Field Guide by Gary Lewis

Super thorough with great pics. I think people of all ages would enjoy using this, Only thing I’d suggest would be a way to identify a rock one finds by its features instead of having to find it... like an identification guide like the leaf identification guide I once had as a kid. Is it single or compound,,, serrated? With pages to turn to. If this had something like that it’d be even better. If it does, oops, I missed it.

I love rocks and collecting rocks, so I was excited for this new book, My Awesome Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals. It is perfect for older kids and adults. This book is filled to the brim with information that is simple and easy to understand.

Author Gary Lewis gives readers a glimpse into the world of rock hounding. The book is divided into several sections; the science, the minerals, and the field notebook. He teaches young and old where to find rocks and minerals, how to identify them, and how to record your findings in a notebook. I loved all the pictures and descriptions of the different rocks and minerals.

I really enjoyed reading My Awesome Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals. I have tried to interest my kids in rocks, so maybe this book will capture their attention.

This book would be useful for teachers, homeschooling, boy or girl scouts, or anyone interested in hunting for rocks.

This really is an awesome field guide and rock tracker. It gives kids so much information about rocks, minerals, and the science behind them. Kids will learn how rocks are formed, about things like the Mohs scale, and see detailed pictures and descriptions of 150 rocks and minerals. At the end, there are log pages for 50 finds. The book even gives instructions on how to log in the digital version.

This is such a good scientific resource to teach kids about geology. It would make a wonderful book for a geology unit for homeschools. The color photos are excellent, and the book itself is really well written. The author does a great job expressing his enthusiasm for rock hunting and passing it on to the reader. I also love that each rock/mineral has information like streak color, hardness, cleavage, etc. to help kids positively ID their finds.

The one thing I wish it had was a section of examples of rocks that kids might find and showing the actual steps in IDing them. Our family has been enthusiastically rock hunting for all of our kids' lives and I know that the specimens that kids find don't generally look like the pictures in field guides. It would be great to see some examples of real rocks found in various places and the showing the clues used to tell what they were.

That said, this is the best rock and mineral book I've found and I really loved it. I may buy a copy for our home library to aid in our kids' rock hunting adventures.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

My Awesome Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals is an engaging and accessible introduction to rocks and minerals, safe and responsible collection and identification, and geology. Released 12th Nov 2019 by Rockridge Press, it's 232 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

I've been promoting STE(A)M education for decades. Finding and nurturing learners' (not just kids) interests are key to making the next generation of scientists and technologists. I honestly have yet to meet a person who wasn't at least moderately interested in rocks and minerals. They're fascinating. That is what the author harnesses and his own enthusiasm and broad knowledge of the subject shines through.

The book has a logical format and easy to use layout. An introduction to earth science is followed by a chapter on safe and responsible specimen collection including procedures and accepted standard record-keeping methods. The following section contains a compendium of individual minerals and metals with notes on density, molecular composition, interesting facts, and photographs. There are lots and lots of photographs. The book also contains a nice field journal which can be used as is (it includes specimen numbers to correlate with the entries in the journal) or as a template for a separate field journal. I really like that the information in this book uses standard notations and accepted journal formats which will serve as a good basis for scientific record keeping later on in life. Though ostensibly aimed at younger readers, it's a perfectly good introduction to the earth sciences for all ages.

It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. The book also includes a nice (interactive) links and resources list, a bibliography, glossary, and short author bio. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

This would be a nice selection for school or classroom library, a good basis for a classroom or library activity or homeschool unit on earth science, or a super gift, maybe bundled with some of the collecting gear the author mentions in the book.

Very well done and appealing. Five stars.