Book excerpt: Dig deep to discover our rocky planet, packed with natural wonders. Earth's extraordinary minerals, gems, shells, and fossils are all on dazzling display in this essential visual encyclopedia for children. Feast your eyes on the ultimate treasure trove that any pirate would envy. More than 1,000 stunning photographs showcase rocks and gems in glorious detail, ensuring you can recognise sedimentary from sandstone, metamorphic from marble, and pyrite from pearl. The unique qualities of each eye-catching material are described in-depth, together with their broad range of uses in art, industry, architecture, and science. Keep your eyes open for rainbow rocks, fluorescent minerals, priceless diamonds, and meteor showers on your geological journey of discovery. Meet dinosaurs in the prehistoric period to understand how fossils form, join the pyramid builders of ancient Egypt to investigate the limestone bricks, and take a dip in the ocean on the hunt for clams, cowries, and cockles. Treasure seekers, get set to start your own collection with The Rock and Gem Book.