Collecting Gems and Minerals

School Library Journal

Gr 5 Up-A book for beginning collectors who have the opportunity to visit fine mineral sources or have the wherewithal to purchase samples of their dreams in rock shops or by mail order. It is a pretty compendium of exceptionally fine full-color photos of a large variety of minerals and gemstones, some in their native matrixes or in a natural state, and others shown polished and burnished and faceted, glittering as jewelry, coins, unset gems, or decorative objects. The photos are accompanied by informative captions. Longer texts introduce various groups of minerals and gems and are followed by paragraphs on specific types (e.g., rock crystal, rose quartz, cairngorm, etc., are listed under quartz). Attractive and readable, the book includes such details as preparing for a field trip, cleaning and displaying a collection, and a helpful glossary. If you already own R. F. Symes's Rocks & Minerals (1988) and Crystal & Gem (1991, both Knopf), Steve Parker's Rocks and Minerals (DK, 1997), and Herbert Zim's Rocks and Minerals (Golden Press, 1957), you can probably live without this one. However, if you have some ardent rock hounds, or just as ardent rock-hound wannabees, this is a nonhandbook look at some extremely decorative components of Spaceship Earth.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY