Back to School Book Reviews- Stardust Explores Earth's Wonders Plus #Giveaway

Hello STEM Sparkers! Welcome back to the Back to School Book Reviews; this one is the last one which means this post contains the Amazon e-gift card giveaway!

The final book STEM Spark is reviewing is Stardust Explores Earth's Wonders. Hope you're ready for this review-- there's a quiz, I mean giveaway, at the end! You can check out the other Back to School Book Reviews here and here.

Will your kids like it and/or will you hate it?

Jack seemed interest in this book while I read it too him, but there are a lot of science facts in this book. So Jack needed a little explanation, and by the end, he was over the lengthy engineering mom explanations (there is a glossary of terms to help us adults out, but I might have rambled beyond what's in the glossary 😉 ). However, I really enjoyed this book. I found it well written with lots of interesting facts-- I learned that a whale's flipper has the same bone structure as our hand (that's kind of cool)!-- and helpful illustrations. Stardust, the main character, explains plate tectonics, fossil records, and evolution to her younger brother in a simple and fun way (again lots of cool facts!). I also love that the author is 13 year old Bailey Harris who is "on a mission to inspire a love of science and sense of wonder about the universe." I came across Harris and her book Stardust Explores Earth's Wonders on Kickstarter, and I knew I had to buy this book!

How long will it keep them entertained?

For little ones, preschool and younger, it may be hard for them to focus on the big words (for example Cenozoic) and longer scientific explanations. However, you could just read a few sentences on each page to the little ones, giving them some introduce to the concepts in this book. I do think elementary school aged children will enjoy learning the concepts from their peer Stardust-- it will make a great teaching aid for all educators. It's a book educators can read each year, and it's one that if you have at home, you'll go back to as a reference.

Are they a good value?

I think this book is reasonably priced on Amazon at $9.95 for a paper back and $16.95 for hard back; these are prices that I see all the time in the children's book industry. If the book gets used year after year in the classroom or home, it's definitely a good value.

Ninja-like STEM Skills

The STEM skills aren't so secretive in this book, but that's okay, because again, there's lots of cool science facts! Like the name for fossil poop is coprolite-- something I know you totally needed to know!

My overall rating of Stardust Explores Earth's Wonders (using the Amazon five star system) is 4 stars out of 5. I definitely recommend it for classrooms everywhere.

Now for what you've really been waiting for STEM Sparkers, the quiz! I mean, giveaway! Open to residents everywhere in the world, shoot the universe, that has a legitimate email address that can receive Amazon e-gift card. Use the Rafflecopter (or link here) below to tell me which book of the Back to School Book Reviews you'd like to read (there's some bonus questions/entries too) for a chance to win a $20 (US dollars) Amazon e-gift card ! Thanks for hanging around for the Back to School Book Reviews and happy STEM-ing!