Adventures with Rocks and Minerals

School Library Journal

Gr 7-10-The intended audience for this book is not clear; what is clear is that Barrow is writing about a limited environment and certainly not one with which most modern urban and suburban dwellers are familiar. He directs readers to "Examine sedimentary rocks in your backyard or around your school for various fossils." Most American backyards simply do not have sedimentary rocks (or rocks of any kind) in them. He also suggests, "With an adult, go to a sedimentary rock quarry or to a roadcut...and study the various layers of rock." Readers are not told that they can expect to encounter "No Trespassing" signs. The author tells youngsters that they can obtain a piece of coal either from a rock shop or a coal company, but most kids will not have access to either one. Another serious drawback is the lack of a glossary. Instead, terms are listed in the index with references back to the page on which they first occur. Raymond Wiggers's The Amateur Geologist (Watts, 1993) is a much better book.George Gleason, Department of English, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield