Rocks and Minerals (Scholastic Science Readers) - Hardcover

Ricciuti, Edward R.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0439269938 ISBN 13: 9780439269933

Publisher: Scholastic, 2001

About this title

From the Author

Create your very own revised edition of the field guide!
Dear Readers, Thanks for your interest in Audubon's First Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals. I was thrilled when I was given the opportunity to co-write this book. Here was my chance to provide useful information and focus on facts that I find most interesting. One of my many interests is how we use rocks and minerals. People often forget (or don't even recognize) that most human-made objects come from rocks and minerals in one way or another. Until I was in college, I actually thought that driveway gravel was made from cement poured into ice cube trays! As a scientist, what I value most in non-fiction is accuracy. (Of course, I am particularly impressed and grateful when facts are painted in a rich spectrum of words.) Whenever I come across a mistake in a book, ESPECIALLY a children's book, I become furious. Then, when I calm down enough to pick up the book again, I begin to wonder how many other things are wrong in the book. It makes me very nervous. In writing this field guide, my co-author, the editors, and I all took a lot of time making sure everything we wrote was clear, interesting, correct, and understandable to adults as well as kids. So you can imagine my horror when a friend pointed out a BIG MISTAKE in the book that I wrote! How could this have happened? Well, it was my oversight and I apologize. With any luck, the next edition will be fixed. But in the mean time, I think it's my responsibility to let you all know what that mistake is and how to fix it. When you get this book, turn to page 53. Under "Sphalerite" cross out "bronze" and write "brass." Now you are the proud owner of a unique Hand Corrected Edition of the Audubon First Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals! In case you were wondering, sphalerite is a zinc mineral. Zinc is used for many things, including sunscreen and galvanized steel. Zinc is also mixed with copper to form the alloy brass. Bronze, on the other hand, is a mixture of copper and tin. Well, they both start with "br" so it's easy to get bronze and brass mixed up, but that's no excuse for a book. Overall, I think we succeeded in producing a beautiful, useful, accurate field guide, and I hope you all like it. But if you notice any other errors, please please please write a letter to the publisher so the next edition is correct. If you'd like, you can write to me directly at the American Museum of Natural History. I urge you to do the same for other books as well. We are all at the mercy of the authors and editors whom we rely on to give us correct information. It's not that the authors or publishers are lying to us on purpose; no one is an expert on everything and we all make mistakes. Some errors are just typos, some are just silly mistakes, and others are myths that have infected generations of books. Sincerely, Margaret Carruthers

About this edition

• Publisher: Scholastic
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0439269938
• ISBN 13: 9780439269933
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 48