These Rocks Count!

by Alison Ashley Formento

Mr. Tate's class is about to learn there's more to rocks than being dirty lumps on the ground. On this field trip they're visiting the rocky ridge mountains to learn about rocks. At first the children think rocks will be boring, but they soon learn that rocks are all around us in ways we might not expect--such as glass and toothpaste!

Genres: Picture Books, Science, Nonfiction, Childrens, Nature

32 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Alison Ashley Formento is the author of the young adult novel TWIGS (Merit Press), and award-winning picture books THIS TREE COUNTS!, THIS TREE 1, 2, 3, THESE BEES COUNT!, THESE SEAS COUNT! and THESE ROCKS COUNT! (Albert Whitman & Co.). She's written for The New York Times, Parenting, The Writer and several other magazines.

AUTHOR WEBSITE

www.alisonashleyformento.com

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Reviews

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

This time author Alison Formento and artist Sarah Snow share their contagious enthusiasm for geology.

"Every speck is part of this giant rock's journey. It moves and changes just like you."

Unfolding the story with apparent effortlessness, Alison packs this book with important information about rocks, and I appreciate how the story is graced with counting.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artist needs to decide who's Shin and who's Amy. Really annoyed to realize that they switched a couple of pages into the story. It had been fun trying to match everyone up to the descriptors.

Enjoyed the rock facts on the last page the best. The counting aspect felt forced.

[Lauren Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute little story where children learn more about rocks. They learn they can come in many different sizes. They also talk about the different uses rocks can have. They also learn that rocks are nature's building blocks.

[Andrew Swanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book introducing the concept to kids of rocks as interesting :)

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This nonfiction book gives some basics on rocks: mostly on their uses and where they are found, but also a little on different types and where they come from.

A teacher takes his class on a field trip to hunt for rocks, and a park ranger joins him to teach the children. They give plenty of useful information, and in the end, even Amy, the child who thinks rocks are boring, changes her mind.

The text flowed well, especially for a non-fiction book (it looks and reads more like a picture book and my four-year-old enjoyed having me read it to her). The only part that didn't work for me is when the kids started "listening" to the boulder in the middle of the book and it turned into a counting section—which was totally unrelated to the boulder. I didn't get that part.

The illustrations are fabulous. (I suspect that they account for most of the book's appeal to my four-year-old daughter.) I love the diversity of the class and the backgrounds and the rocks.

Three stars for the text; five for the pictures.

I received a copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads program.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

My children are huge rock hounds and collectors, so when they saw this book in the Albert Whitman catalog, they requested it. We loved the multi- media digital illustrations which are colorful, and bring the story to life. For a non-fiction book, These Rocks Count is interesting and easy to read. The only drawbacks for us were that 1) we haven't had a great experience with rangers being nice to children as of late, and one of the main "helpers" in this story is a ranger, and 2) we weren't quite sure why everyone was hugging and listening to a boulder.

What did we love? We really liked learning about all the different places you can find rocks and minerals: toothpaste, cell phones, etc. My children were excited to see a geode featured as this is one of our favorite types of specimens. Overall, I would recommend this one for teachers or mothers of young learners.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

These Rocks Count! is another wonderful addition to Alison Formento and Sarah Snow’s counting series. While reading and counting readers will more than likely learn something new. Sarah Snow’s digital collage artwork is gorgeous. Rocks Count! would be an excellent choice for Earth Day and works for public, school or home libraries. Previous books are These Seas Count, This Tree Counts, These Bees Count and This Tree 1,2,3.

[Colette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rocks count, but the also ROCK! Wonderful introductory book for studying rocks, rock cycle, geology, and geologists. PreK-2nd grade. Excellent notes at the back of the book go into more detail. I would have liked the book to include great book and web resources, but you can always see your friendly librarian for that information!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book integrates science and counting. In this book, we learn about rocks and how they are used and created by nature. It is also a book for learning to count to ten. I would love to use this in a preschool classroom when learning about rocks.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the books that is hard to distinguish between story or information. A class is on a field trip, hiking with a rock expert from the park. 10 common uses of rocks are discussed during the hike. The back matter gives details about the rocks mentioned.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice introduction into how rocks are used in the world around us.

[Harla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great easy nonfiction about rocks. We need to order this one.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rocks rock! Shares information about the great variety of rocks.

[Amy Conant · Rating 3 out of 5]

The children that I read this to liked it, but it probably could have been more exciting.