Is There a Dinosaur in Your Backyard?: The World's Most Fascinating Fossils, Rocks, and Minerals [Paperback]

Spencer Christian (Author), Antonia Felix (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Spencer Christians World of Wonders

Discover an amazing world of ancient secrets--right under your feet!

How are rocks formed? Where do diamonds come from? Why did the dinosaurs disappear? Can rocks really grow on trees . . . or come from outer space?

Join popular ABC-TV weather forecaster Spencer Christian as he explores the extraordinary tales that rocks tell about the history of the earth and the life of our ancestors. Meet Lucy, one of the most famous human fossils in the world. Name your own dinosaur. Cook up some red-hot lava--or make rocks in your kitchen!

It's an action-packed tour that takes you around the world and through your own backyard as you follow the exciting trail of rock history, legend, and lore. Lots of easy-to-do activities let you experience nature up close--and dozens of fun facts and illustrations bring the world's wonders to vivid life. Awesome!

For children ages 8 to 12

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-Weatherman Christian now takes on the world of rocks and fossil hunting, and his conglomeration of sidebars, charts, and experiments will deluge readers with facts. The book explores igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks, as well as gems, minerals, and elements. Extraterrestrial stones such as meteors are included, as are the earthly phenomena of continental drift, fossils, and the rise of dinosaurs. The author furnishes tips for aspiring rockhounds and addresses for state geological departments. While the information is great, the layout and some of the cartoon black-and-white illustrations detract from the overall appeal. Caricatures of Christian seem plunked in to fill up space and sidebars and factoids, while intriguing, interrupt the main flow of the text. Lively but expendable.
Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 5^-8. Christian does discuss dinosaurs, but they pale in comparison to some of the other nifty bits of information about fossils, rocks, and minerals that make this breezy introduction to earth science hard to put down (e.g., Nero wore sunglasses with emerald lenses while watching the gladiators). Caricatures of Christian and numerous cartoon-style drawings and diagrams illustrate the book. Highlighted fact boxes offer related information, and simple, clearly described experiments and activities complement the very readable text. Two minor quibbles: the design of the book, with cartoons on every page and text in several fonts, is sometimes distracting, and the text occasionally gets lost between several pages of experiments. Addresses of geological organizations and an extensive glossary are appended. Chris Sherman

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (July 27, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471196169
• ISBN-13: 978-0471196167
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,559,467 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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