Tess and the Mystery Rock is a softcover book and field notebook by Gravitas Publications Inc. In the book, we meet Tess, a super curious girl who wants to be a scientist when she grows up. She is particularly good at asking questions! When a mystery rock falls out of the sky, Tess goes on a quest to discover what it could be.

This book has three sections: the story of Tess and the rock she finds, Thought Stops where you learn more about science and do experiments, and at the end there are Science Facts, where you get more info on rocks, bugs, what things are made of, etc.

The Field Notebook duplicates the Thought Stops and Science Facts from the book, plus has areas where your student can answer questions, take notes, and blank pages for sketching. Some things it covers are Roly Poly Bugs, Geodes, and Meteorites. It includes a glossary but includes a blank section for making your own glossary.

I think this book and notebook would work well for the third to fifth grade crowd. It is listed under the Supplemental section on the website and would make a great unit study. It costs $15 for the book, $11 for the notebook, or $20 for both. I really liked this for my fourth grader. It was structured well for an independent reader and asked good questions to generate thinking through a question. I would really like to explore some of the other products from Gravitas Publishing!

-Product review by Tyna Begley, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, February 2019