Simple Machines and Rocks Around the Clock: Rocks & Minerals in Everyday Life are two elementary-aged books written by Eve Heidi Bine-Stock. The books are available on Amazon in paperback for $9.99 and digital form for $5.49 for Simple Machines and $4.49 for Rocks Around the Clock.

The paperback books both measure eight and one-half by eight and one-half, making them a nice size for reading. The illustrations by Katerina Davidenko are colorful and engaging. The illustrations in Simple Machines show children in an understandable and relatable way how the machines work. Simple Machines also uses a blend of real pictures to tell the stories of the machines.

Also using everyday life, Rocks Around the Clock tells the story of rocks and minerals. There is a catchy poem at the beginning of each section that shows how we use each rock or mineral each day like the mineral fluorite used to make the fluoride in our toothpaste and quartz and all the products that use quartz. The rocks and minerals are real pictures that go with the colorful illustrations.

We used both books during reading time. Both of my students, grade one and grade 3, picked up the books at various times and read them independently. I have used them also as separate readings when our science courses touched on a topic close to the books. I appreciate the way they introduce topics and make them interesting to the student. The Simple Machines book illustrates levels and pulleys so well that I am considering using it as a reading device in our homeschool STEM club to introduce the topic there. I recommend these books for use in any schooling environment. They are a wonderful addition and introduce both topics to young students well.

Product review by Melissa Bontadelli, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, September 2020