Under The Microscope

Co-ordinated Science; The Earth, by Peter Whitehead; Oxford; 111 p; $29.95

Earth Science books that are really useful are difficult to find -- but here's one for the average 13-14 year old. It has been well thought out, is well written, covers all the major aspects of the subject and is set out in a most useful way. The text is accompanied by lots of wonderful coloured photographs and illustrations which makes it interesting even for those who have reading difficulties.

The book covers the following areas of study: Introduction to the "Blue Planet", Weather, Fossils, Erosion, Earth Movements, Use and Abuse of Materials, Earth in Space, and Plate Tectonics. Each of these is subdivided into three to eight topics on a double spread. A typical topic layout has about 250 words of text, three or four illustrations, and a set of five questions. Some topics have simple practical exercises while others require graphing or interpretation skills. I am so impressed with the book that I am considering purchasing a class set for next year. My only hesitation is that some topics are oriented to conditions found in Britain, a feature which initially put me off the book. Perhaps someone may produce a New Zealand version in the future!

Geoff Groves is HOD Science at Ellesmere College