A book review of Rock Hunt (Backpack Explorer)
Stars: ****
Storey Publishing (2023)
Children’s Nonfiction
48 pages
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This post contains affiliate links.
Summary: The latest addition to the best-selling Backpack Explorer series (455,000 copies in print) invites kids ages 4 and up to head outside and find, collect, and learn about rocks with this take-along activity book! Backpack Explorer: Rock Hunt is packed with prompts and activities, including: 12 interactive field guide pages introducing rock classifications (color, shape, size, texture); sensory scavenger hunts; hands-on outdoor creative activities; rock experiments; and discovery zone pages with facts about geology, landforms, igneous and metamorphic rocks, gems, fossils, and more. The book includes a real magnifying glass, stickers, and a log for recording rock finds, making it the perfect explorer guide for budding geologists, whether in a backyard, a city park, or a nature preserve.
Rock Hunt
This book is designed for ages 4-8 but could definitely be used a bit older as well. I’ll be using it with my 9 and 12 year old when we learn geology for homeschool.
It comes with a little flat plastic magnifying glass which actually works pretty well for being so small and simple. The book is designed to be brought with on a rock hunt. After going over what you need to go on a rock hunt and how to use the book, you are introduced to the stickers at the back of the book. Page two shows you how to use them. The 12 patch stickers are designed to mark which of the types of rocks you found. See where it says “I See It!” in the image below? That’s where you put it.
As you can see the images are full colour and the little “Zoom In” icon shows you when you might want to use your magnifying glass.
Different types of rocks are gone over like pebbles, boulders, quartz, black rocks, landforms and more. I especially love the landforms page, that will be a good reference for geography classes too.
Fun activities are included such as stacking rocks and rock art. At the end of the book is a journal to write about your favourite rock. There is a pull out chart to match extra stickers up with what you did on your rock hunt. There is a My Rock Collection sticker too which you could stick on the container you use to hold your rock finds. There’s a few other stickers too to use how you want.
If you like this book there are others in the series such as beach, trees, nature trail, bird and bug.
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