I’m going to say right off the top that this gorgeously illustrated STEM book belongs in every elementary and middle school classroom. Pre-order this now so you have it when school starts in the autumn!

This book is a fantastic, easy-to-understand way to teach kids about what’s beneath our feet. From the Earth’s crust to the inner core, readers will learn about the materials that make up our planet, like granite, basalt, magma, carbon, iron, and nickel.

While nothing is overly complicated, the book does sprinkle in some technical terms like magnetic field, radiation, heat, pressure, plate tectonics, and temperature. These words can become great learning opportunities when a parent or teacher reads along with a child.

The book is also packed with lots of cool facts… or maybe I should say “hot” facts. My favorite is that the temperature of earth’s inner core is estimated to reach almost 10,000°F (5,500°C)!

Understanding some basic knowledge about Earth is a good thing. As a kid, I would have absolutely adored this book.

Thank you @netgalley and Capstone for the eARC of this book, which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Sweet nonfiction look at the different layers of the Earth and earth science. I particularly liked the illustrations with cutaways of the strata.

How much do we really know about the earth? What has been left untouched? Or what do we know about somethings, but have hardly.. scratched the surface! This was a well done, engagingly written and illustrated children's book. It felt like great, thought provoking information, but in a way that wouldn't be overwhelming to a young reader. It would be a great read aloud in a classroom! It gave prompts and info you could dive deeper into. There's so much more to learn about the world we live in, around us and underneath the surface. The main way we can do that? Stay curious and don't be satisfied with just 'scratching the surface' !

Great book about the composition of the earth and all its layers. The book clearly explains the layers of the earth and what we know about each layer. I really appreciated how they acknowledged how our knowledge of how these layers work has changed over time and will continue to change. This creates great opportunities for discussion and reflection. A must have for public libraries and school libraries.

Very informative but quite wordy for a children's book. It was a fun read and the illustrations were really nice as well

Scratching the Surface digs into the layers of the earth in an engaging and educational way. This book would make a great supplement to an earth science curriculum for grades 1-4. Kate Allen Fox’s writing is thorough, informative and age appropriate. Scratching the surface is sure to generate questions and foster imagination within young, aspiring scientists.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kate Allen Fox, Erin Brown, and Capstone Editions for this wonderful ARC, I look forward to using this when planning earth science units!

This was a GORGEOUS book and so well done! Age appropriate language and the pictures were amazing and beautiful - I learned so much and stayed engaged the whole book! I think this will be a must-have on your kiddo’s bookshelves!

Fascinating! This book is easy to read and understand. It is well illustrated. And most importantly, it was informative in a way that made me want to keep reading and learning.

A lovely science book for children.

This is so cute and informative. The artwork is adorable!!! Definitely one of the better kids science books I have read. Love Geology. LOVED the artwork.

I really enjoyed this book! It packed a lot of information into a short book, but it never felt too complex or dense for a kid to understand. I loved the Call to Action at the end, as well as the disclaimer that we're always learning about and disproving various scientific ideas. I also loved the illustrations in this book. They were so sweet and detailed!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. This was a fun and informative read about the inner Earth and what it’s made of.

This was extremely informative and the illustrations were helpful in understanding the text. Any future geologist or geoscientist would be in good hands having this book. There’s even resources and further reading in the back that parents may find interesting.

Overall, the book was well written and I did really enjoy it. Thank you for this advance reading copy!

What a fabulous book!

Informative and fun!

I love that we get a main narrative as well as additional boxes of more information - this makes this book accessible for a wide range of ages and levels. I could see this being useful as a book siblings share!

And bonus - aside from being a great book of science facts there is even ANOTHER narrative - about making mistakes and trial an error! Something scientist know well - that is just like the mistakes we make in life too!

Scratching the Surface is a great introduction to the Earth's layers and the scientific method. The book starts with thought-provoking questions that will pique the interest of curious young readers and prompt discussions between grown-up readers and their audience. There are helpful definitions throughout. The illustrations are fun and captivating though I do think that a few of the images could have been a bit clearer for those who are learning new concepts. For example, the illustration for the mantle and the description of plate tectonics might benefit from the addition of a volcano that illustrates what is being described and/or a few illustrations that demonstrate how plate tectonics work.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishing team for providing me early access to this title in exchange for an honest review.

Archaeologist here 👋 I saw this title and new I needed to grab this one for review. I read through it and also read it with my two daughters (aged 6+4). Upon my own initial inspection, I was a little bummed that there wasn't more archaeology. I also wasn't a huge fan of the side boxes with more information. I was hoping for more of a story book, and this one came across as an "early learners textbook" so to speak. I also felt like my kids weren't really comprehending things like the temperatures and miles. but appreciated the attempt at explanation (twice as hot as the temperature cookies bake at!).

While I did have some minor issues with this, they were, indeed, quite minor. I absolutely LOVED the illustrations. And I did enjoy the text, which I was accurate and mostly conveyed the message to my kids age group. I absolutely LOVED that the author provided additional reading and citations. And the scientific method at the end.

My kids say 10/10. I'm inclined to agree. I may have to purchase a copy to display on their bookshelf :)