Holly Keller has created vivacious new paintings for this favorite Reading Rainbow title about geology. Readers follow two enthusiastic rock hounds around the globe as they add to their collection. Along the way they will learn how sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks are formed. From the Egyptian pyramids to Roman roads, from the diamond ring on your finger to the pebbles under your feet'rocks are everywhere!

This book is intended for ages 7-14. Metal ores are one of the Earth's most common minerals. Metals are useful in all types of industry because they last a long time, are conductors of electricity, and can be easily shaped. Since the first metal alloy was created more than 6,000 years ago during the Bronze Age, people have recognised the potential of extracting metallic elements from rock. This book traces the history, uses, methods of extraction, and future of one of our most versatile resources. The topics include: early use of metals during the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, and the Copper Age; which countries have the most deposits of metal ores, and how much metal different countries use; extracting metals from ores by use of smelting, flotation, and leaching; the equipment that geologists use to locate metal deposits in ore; the lives of miners, including their working conditions, the equipment they use, and the dangers that they encounter working in open-pit and underground mines; and, the role that recycling plays in saving our environment and how metals are recycled.

The Babylonians and Sumerians were using thick, gooey oil as early as 5000 BC as pitch to caulk their boats and hold their building bricks in place. Oil is actually a fuel, like coal, but its use today is more widespread through its products such as gasoline and kerosene. Oil and Gas takes a fascinating look at this disappearing fossil fuel describing how it is made, where it is located in the world, and the environmental and economic problems its use has created. Topics include: - What is oil? - millions of years in the making - oil throughout history including the oil boom of the late 1800s, its use as a means of light, and as fuel when wood supplies were used up - exploration and the geology of oil - the different methods for extracting oil - maps show where the world's oil deposits are located - how oil is refined into gasoline - the uses of oil for heating, electricity, powering automobiles - transporting oil by pipeline and tanker - the problem of air pollution, oil spills, and global warming - renewable energy alternatives to oil Teacher's guide available.