These Books Rock: 10 Books about Rocks, Minerals, Gems, and Crystals

Similarly to the book above, this series of books notes the locations of places to collect rocks. You’ll learn what the collectible rocks are in the place that you’re going. These rocks and minerals books provide the GPS coordinates of the sites you’ll want to visit and explain how to collect samples. Furthermore, if you’re looking to make rockhounding friends, the book collects information about clubs from around the state.

No nature explorer should be without a field guide. Side note: I apologize that this list is so North American-centric. I hope these titles give you a clue of what rocks and minerals books to search for with the geographical terms swapped out. You might associate the Audubon Society with birds, but their field guide to rocks and minerals is top notch as well. While it’s too big to fit in a pocket, you’ll appreciate its thoroughness and high quality photographs.

When you’re in the comfort of your home, a large rock and gem book is where it’s at. Keep this one on your coffee table and watch how anyone who comes over will want to leaf through it. The earth producing truly stunning materials. This is a book that showcases that beauty while also providing tons of in-depth information. If you’ve got a youngster around, you may prefer a similar book from the same publisher aimed at the younger set: My Book of Rocks and Minerals: Things to Find, Collect, and Treasure.

Crystals have been meaningful treasures since time immemorial. I’ve certainly noticed an uptick in interest in crystals as of late, related to the boom in other practices like tarot and astrology. This book isn’t meant to be a guide for getting into crystals, but it does examine what’s behind that uptick. I’m a huge fan of books that merge the personal essay with explorations of a topic. If you are too, this is a book for you.

When I was a kid, my love for rocks and my love for comics had to take up separate places. How obsessed I would have been with this book, that takes readers on an adventure through geology. Where real-life rockhounding trips might take kids to hiking trails and lake shores, this book takes them inside the earth and even into outer space. It’s the perfect book to drum up excitement in a kid who shows curiosity about geology.

If the weather’s no good for rockhounding, there are still plenty of activities to entertain a budding geologist. Using stuff from around the house, this book teaches about geologic activity like erosions and earthquakes with simple experiments. Kids can melt crayons to understand the rock cycle, or make a geode out of an egg. Once the weather has improved, they will be able to explain so much more about what they see and experience outside.

It’s hard to grasp the concept of the Grand Canyon, even if you’re standing right at the rim. It’s unfathomably huge. This picture book is perfect for capturing some of the awe that accompanies appreciating geology. While it’s perfect for someone who has visited the canyon, it’s also a great book to give a kid who’s looking to dream up their travel wish list. In addition to the breathtaking artwork, this book boasts die-cut pages that provide a look into the past, a fold-out spread to pore over, and lots of back matter for further reading.

As with the rocks and minerals books for adults, I believe it’s important to see how rocks figure into culture and art. This book chronicles a boy beginning his lifelong journey of carving argillite, a sedimentary rock Haida people living along the coast of what is now known as British Columbia traditionally prize. It’s a beautiful story, simply and meaningfully told.

If you know a rock loving kid who finds making friends harder than finding rocks, this series about science-loving Jada Jones is perfect. In addition to being able to identify with the character, readers can see how Jada navigates and resolves conflict with school classmates. While the book explores Jada’s feelings a lot, there are also plenty of geology facts incorporated into the text to keep the real rock nerds reading.