Six Really Great Books About Geology

One of my son’s latest obsessions is geology. Last week we went to Cornwall for a short break; while we were there he went on a geology walk which fuelled his obsession no end. We already had a few books about rocks and geology on our shelves; but the geology walk meant we needed to visit a bookshop and expand our selection of books about geology a little more. After consulting with the boy, we’ve chosen six of his favourite books about geology.

Six Really Great Books About Geology

Usborne Naturetrails: Rocks and Fossils by Struan Reid – this is an absolutely brilliant book. It’s got bags of full of colour pictures, and easy to understand information all about rocks. There are fantastic facts boxes and short experiments to enhance understanding. The end section contains a field spotters guide listing the main rocks, minerals and fossils to be seen; plus tips and advice on collecting rocks. It’s a great all round book for junior geologists!

Everything: Rocks and Minerals by National Geographic Kids – Packed with facts and anecdotes from experts and bursting with colour photographs, learn all about rocks, minerals, fossils, types of rock, tectonics and gems in this informative and fun educational book from National Geographic Kids.

Rock & Fossil Hunter (DK Eyewitness) by Ben Morgan – this books explains everything you never knew about rocks, fossils, minerals, gems, and shells. There are more than 30 hands-on practical projects to try out at home; start your own rock collection, grow your own gemstones, make a fossil bone, build a sandstone castle, or even create an erupting volcano! Each activity comes with easy step-by-step instructions to help you. This is a great book for learning about the geology of rocks, Earth’s changing landscape, and much more.

My Book of Rocks and Minerals: Things to Find, Collect, and Treasure by Dr Devin Dennie – For children aged 5+, this guide is the ideal starter companion for any child interested in starting their own rock and mineral collection. This is a fantastic introduction to the world of rocks, gems, and minerals. Children will learn all about where rocks and minerals come from, what a fossil is, and how they can go about starting their own rock collection, as well as how to identify any rocks they find.

Rocks and Minerals Sticker Book by Natural History Museum – For children who love activity books, this is full of fun stuff; with colourful stickers, fantastic facts and fun learning pages, this activity book is a great introduction to 100 rocks and minerals from around the world. Written and designed for younger readers, it contains 100 re-useable stickers. There are lots of bite-size facts about what rocks and minerals look like and where they come from; plus exciting puzzles and games, including a colouring in activity and spot the mineral quiz. You can build your own rock world by adding stickers to a colourful double page landscape. This book is ideal for children who want to know more about rocks and minerals.

The Street Beneath My Feet by Charlotte Guillian is something a little bit different than the rock spotter books listed above. This double-sided foldout book takes you on a fascinating journey deep underground. One side of the foldout shows the ground beneath the city and the reverse side shows the ground beneath the countryside. The underground scenes include tunnels and pipes, creatures’ burrows, layers of rock and the planet’s molten core. Covering subjects such as geology, archaeology and natural history; this expansive concertina book opens out to an impressive 2.5 metres long; perfect for spreading out on the floor to pore over for hours.

Geology is a fascinating science; whether you’re interested in rocks, minerals, fossils or gems, there’s a really great book on this list that can help you learn more. What’s your favourite book about geology?

If you enjoyed this, you might also like these five books about science or these six books about space.

Six Really Great Books About Geology

Children’s Books: Five Superb Books About Science

One of my son’s favourite things is science. We can often be found at a science museum, or experimenting at home. He also loves to read books about all kinds of science; with a particular focus on dinosaurs, space and the earth sciences. I’ve picked out five of our favourite books about science, each one is a great introduction and resource for science mad kids!

Here are my Five Superb Books About Science –

First Encyclopedia of Science by Rachel Firth published by Usborne is a lovely basic introduction to science. Suitable for younger children this children’s encyclopedia is packed with easy-to-read text and lively illustrations which introduces a broad range of basic science topics. It’s a great first step into science for younger children!

Children's Books: Five Superb Books About Science

Bug Hotel by Libby Walden and illustrated by Clover Robin is a beautiful book aimed at 3-6 year olds. Each page details the hotel habitat where creepy crawlies of all shapes and sizes can find a place to stay. Lift the flaps to find out facts about your favourite garden insects and learn how a bug hotel can create a sustainable, safe environment for insects and mini-beasts.

365 Science Activities by Minna Lacey is jam-packed with fun science activities and experiments. With a different activity or experiment for every day of the year, this book is filled with hands-on science you can do at home with everyday things you’ll find around your home. This book is perfect for inspiring future scientists!

Astronaut Academy by Steve Martin is a wonderfully fun book for aspiring astronauts. This activity book will test their ability to manage life in space, working on their hand-eye coordination and putting them through obstacle courses; building a balloon rocket, learning basic first-aid skills, how to deal with weightlessness, and doing fiddly things while wearing big gloves! The book also includes stickers, a poster, board game, press-outs, and a model space shuttle; in fact everything an astronaut needs to get started!

National Geographic Kids – Everything Volcanoes and Earthquakes by Kathy Furgang. The National Geographic Kids series is fantastic for explaining things in ways children will understand. We are big fans of the Nat Geo books and Everything Volcanoes and Earthquakes is one of our favourites. Packed with incredible photographs and facts, this book takes a fun approach to science; introducing kids to plate tectonics and the tumultuous forces brewing beneath the Earth’s surface.

Do you have any favourite books about science you read with your children?

Children's Books: Five Superb Books About Science

Review: National Geographic Animal Jam Toys

A brand new range of toys from the makers of the popular kids app – Animal Jam has recently been launched, you might have seen the adverts for Animal Jam on TV already. If you’ve not heard of Animal Jam yet, then be prepared to know everything about it by Christmas!

Animal Jam is the number one online social game for kids and it was created in association with National Geographic. The app is free to play and has over 45 million registered users around the world – three million of them  in the UK.

Created in partnership with National Geographic, Animal Jam combines role playing and anthropology to make an exciting educational game for kids. Players can collect fun facts in their journey books, learn about animal conservation and talk to real scientists.

Animal Jam

These toys will be instantly recognisable for fans of the app. Animal Jam has been brought to life with this brand new collection of toys. They are collectable and all come with exclusive codes to unlock  content and other special  features  inside the online game.

We were sent a selection of the collectable toys to try out, here’s a little run down of what we tried and what we liked…

The Animal Jam Adopt a Pet (Series 1)

These are little pets which come with their own kennel (or dens as they are known in Animal Jam). Each kennel is home to a collectable pet and two accessories. You can customize your pet with accessories and stack the kennels to display your pets. There are 96 of these to collect and they cost just £2.49 which makes it a great pocket money treat. The boy really loved his kennel and out of everything he enjoyed playing with this tiny toy the most. A hit!

Animal Jam

ANIMAL JAM – Friends with Pet

The Friends with Pet costs £4.99, you get a 3 inch figure, a 1 inch friend and three interchangeable accessories. I think this is a great value set, it looks like it should cost more than it does and it would make a great party present for a little Animal Jam fan. We got the Posh Raccoon and Pet Kitty and they are very sweet.

ANIMAL JAM – Light Up Friends with Ring

Another great party present is the Light Up Friends with Ring. These are collectable 3” animal figures and have secret patterns, two interchangeable accessories and a light-up ring. These sets cost £7.99, we were sent the Lucky Lynx and the real hit for the small boy was the light up ring.

ANIMAL JAM Plush characters

These cute plushes cost £7.99 and are 7 inches tall. There are several plush characters to choose from – Panda, Koala, Bunny & Monkey. We were sent the purple Koala and he is  super-soft and very huggable.

Animal Jam

Since we received these toys the small boy has suddenly seen Animal jam everywhere, we’ve downloaded the app and used the codes which came with the toys to unlock parts of the app. It’s fair to say that this had opened up a new line of interest for him, which is great.

The app is free and the accompanying toys are nicely priced, not too expensive and great for either pocket money (or stocking filler) treats, as well as being good options for birthday party presents for classmates etc. They are suitable for ages 5+ and would be a great little gift for any Animal Jam fan this Christmas.

We were sent these toys for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.