Your Birthstone Book: Unearth the Secrets of Your Birthday Gem

by Sarah Glenn Marsh, Hallye Webb (Illustrator)

Learn the amazing (and sometimes magical) history of gemstones from around the world through the corresponding birthstones that represent each month of the year.

Gemstones are among Earth’s rarest and most beautiful creations. They are history’s preeminent symbols of wealth and power. They are valued because they are beautiful and rare, but also because their beauty is undiminished with time. The stone that once adorned a king or maharaja, might today be set in a ring or necklace, and if not destroyed, will continue to sparkle thousands of years from now. This history only increases the value of these stones.

What better way to teach young readers about gemstones than by focusing on the different birthstones that correspond to each month of the year? Everyone (mostly) knows their birthstone. But do they know the full history of these stones--where they were mined, how/why they were popular, or how to best harness a stone's energy to help deal with matters of friendship, family, and life? Your Birthstone Book will give readers insight into the powers assigned different bithstones while exploring their fascinating uses over the course of history.

Genres: Nonfiction

128 pages, Hardcover

Published December 6, 2022

About the author

Sarah Glenn Marsh has been an avid fantasy reader since the day her dad handed her a copy of The Hobbit and promised it would change her life. She believes we all deserve happy endings and is an author of books for everyone, including many young adult, middle grade, and picture book titles.

She lives in Richmond, Virginia with her family, including one sweet daughter, one slightly dull sword, and the chaos of many pets, like a turtle named Muffin who she definitely did not bring back from any haunted swamp. Our Rogue Fates is her first adult novel.

Reviews

[~☆~Autumn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I prefer The Secret Language of Birthdays: Personology Profiles for Each Day of the Year but this seems to be great for kids and teenagers. Lots of new gem stones have been added on in this book. I liked getting tanzanite.

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children's nonfiction

Fantastic information on the birthstone gemstones.
Includes lots of history, uses, and more.

Illustrated

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short book aimed at kids that goes over the varying birthstones for each month. You get facts about the history and lore of the gems, some uses both spiritual and otherwise, and a (very) short look at the chemistry behind them. Some of the months have more than one option, so the author goes into all of the available gems, which I appreciated. It’s a good initial overview, and good for kids just getting their feet wet, but if you’re looking for something to use in spiritual practice, go deeper.

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun to read the history and lore about all the birthstone gems. The "uses" section seemed a little far fetched for me. I'm not certain opals will improve my romantic relationships, or rubies will help me combat exhaustion. But you know, fun to think about anyway.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice introduction to the topic of birthstones. Though the book is written for a younger audience, there are still some interesting tid-bits anyone could enjoy.

The book opens with an introduction into the history of birthstones and holy shit my mind was blown--immediately there is discussion of colonialization, blood diamonds, etc. Wow. You never see that, especially when it comes to the metaphysical. And the explanation for multiple stones per month (some have two or three, with this book listing a total of 21) being from both with the mixed history over time, as well as jewelry companies wanting to make more money, and thus add more stones as options for each month was also a surprise for me to see. (Like, wow, capitalism mentioned in here too???)

I honestly wish the book was longer, just for those discussions. Deeper dives into British destruction and theft of Indian gems, the Congo, and the Jewelry Industry Council would've been wildly interesting. Such a brief introduction got me so hooked, but it was immediately over and we jump into the months. (Granted, there are a couple sources listed in the back, so you could dive deeper there.)

Each stone has two artworks on its page--cut and uncut (though each month has a collage of various artworks of the stones), some general information and fun facts, then more specific history and lore (mostly how the stones were perceived and used historically), along with a list of various uses that go into the metaphysical. The artwork is gorgeous, love the style.

As the usual with crystals and the metaphysical, I don't love how much is claimed to physically heal you. I can be more okay with the mental stuff, since if you really believe something, and with enough mental effort put in, you can definitely make changes a lot of the time. (I still think therapy or medication is still necessary for more serious conditions.) So I wasn't a fan of that, but I get that that's par for the course.

I also found it a little funny for the author to say they didn't recommend wearing opal as a ring, given how soft of a stone it is, then proceeds to say one of the best places to wear it is on your little finger.

I do wish there was more specific information given in the history sections for the stones. Quite a few had more generic, "Legend states," or "Ancient people believed," without naming where those legends or people were from. If it's unknown, I'd rather it say that, or maybe "believed to originate from this region" would be nicer, I think.

This book is more aimed at kids, but it's not a bad coffee table book. For those purely interested in the metaphysical side of things, this might not be the ideal book, but I think it'd be worth glancing at regardless, since it does discuss, even if very briefly, the dark history of crystals, which I think many take for granted. Would be neat to see this duo come out with an adult version of this book, where we get deeper dives into those topics. That was a big plus for me, definitely made this book better than I had expected.

[Rayjan Koehler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good little introduction to Gemstones focusing on birth stones.


I don't really understand page 67 saying ancient Egyptians incorrectly called Topaz Topazios instead... Umm unless I am misreading, wouldn't it be normal for an ancient culture to call something by a different name than we do- or even modern descendants??

[Alisha Greenlaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a cute and informative little book. It's an easy read but there's also much to glean from it if you slow down to go through each page. I initially picked up the book after spending most of my life hearing that I unfortunately had one of the ugliest stones. I'm so glad I read this book because I have a new appreciation for the history and lore behind all of the stones

[Lilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este es un libro muy cortito y fácil de leer acerca de las piedras de cada mes, su historia y para que se utilizan. Las ilustraciones del libro son bonitas e incluye muchos datos interesantes. La historia de la princesa Anahí y el ametrino se me hizo muy linda pero trágica.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable and informative book. The book not only gives you birth stone information but explains the uses of birthstones and the history and lore of the stones.

[Saturday's Child · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's aimed at a young audience but I found it to be an enjoyable, informative read.

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5