What Can You Do with a Rock?

August 1, 2021
Rocks are varied and versatile--not unlike good friends. Rocks often go ignored, the narrator remarks as a blue-haired White child explores along a stream. The text continues in second person as it explains what those who notice the "magic" underfoot know: You can do a lot with a rock. You can kick it down the street, following it along. You can skip it, drop it, collect more, and sort them. You can study them, use them for art, keep them, or share them with a good friend, then make new rock memories with that friend. The story's opening draws readers right into the world of rock appreciation, as though it's a secret society that's free to join. The child's adventures with rocks and making friends form a visual story that complements the conversational, conspiratorial text. By the end, the story widens its scope to sweet life lessons as it turns effortlessly toward friendship and the wisdom transferable from rock discovery to friend discovery ("Some sparkle right away, while others seem ordinary at first, but have treasure deep inside"). Endmatter offers information, advice, and further reading about rocks and rock collecting; the beautiful endpapers with artistic renderings of labeled samples of different kinds of rock are worth perusing in and of themselves. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A delightful invitation. (Picture book. 3-8)

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August 23, 2021
“Some people don’t notice rocks.” But a light-skinned child with blue hair and an eager expression is the very model of a rock connoisseur in Zietlow Miller and Kath’s picture book, which offers a litany of answers to the titular question. As watercolor illustrations celebrate the child’s passion—showing rocks in piles, boxes, and natural settings—text reveals that a rock can be kicked, skipped, dropped, sorted, studied, and even used as a currency of connection, among other autonomy-building options (“Should your tiny white rock go with other tiny rocks? With other white rocks?... Only you can decide”). The book’s premise stretches a little thin when reaching for metaphor (“People are like rocks. Some sparkle right away”), but this is a lively, emotionally resonant celebration of rocks as well as humans’ ways of connecting with and learning about the natural world. Ages 4–8.

September 15, 2021
Preschool-Grade 3 A blue-haired child enthusiastically gives readers the answer to the question at hand in this charming blend of fiction and nonfiction. It's easy to skip or drop rocks, but to have fun, the narrator suggests, you'll need to find more. And once you have a pile of rocks, you can sort them (however you want!), study them, make art with them, or keep them in a collection. Loosely drawn illustrations with an abundance of rocks in varying sizes, colors, and shapes bestow charm as they invite readers to pause and admire the rocks alongside the narrator. Perhaps the best way to enjoy rocks, however, is to share them. The picture book's final scenes depict the child discovering rocks in a seaside setting and finding a new friend in the process. Together, they share their rocks and build stories about them. A concluding section describes the three main types of rocks and offers more suggestions on organizing and interacting with rocks, while endpapers sport beautiful rock examples. A lovely, unconventional tribute to rocks and their admirers.

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Starred review from November 1, 2021

PreS-Gr 2-What a rocking picture book this is! With a bit of geology, a bit of psychology, and a lot of fun, the author and illustrator give us a small active person of indeterminate gender and neutral pronouns in the text (and longish flippy blue hair in the illustrations), who delightedly progresses from kicking rocks, to picking them up, to skipping, dropping, sorting, studying, creating with them-and finally, using them as a stepping stone to friendship. Harking back to such gems as A Hole Is to Dig, this book in its final pages provides a quick intro to geology and some further reading, with both fiction and nonfiction suggestions. In the animated, realistic, blue-washed watercolors, perspectives vary and figures are anchored by thick, fuzzy lines. Landscapes and interiors are uncluttered, but detailed enough to convince. Many compositions featuring a path with an entry- or exit-point help to reinforce the reader-oriented viewpoint. The clear, simple, second-person text offers encouragement and elides gender, but eventually the main character and brown-skinned friend with hair in two meatball-shaped buns are wearing what most children will perceive as girls' bathing suits. VERDICT A winning blend of science, playfulness, and the warmth of personal connections, with lively, engaging illustrations, this book deserves rock-star status-Patricia D. Lothrop, formerly at St. George's Sch., Newport, RI

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2021
Some junior rock collectors are budding geologists, interested in the origins and classification of rocks. Some have that completist gene and are hot on the quest for the perfect geode. Others just want to arrange their rocks into families, or learn to skip them, or use them for crafts. Author and illustrator of this joyful book give equal respect to every kind of rockhound, following a jaunty blue-haired girl with a sidelong grin who collects, sorts, paints, makes mosaics, pitches, and contemplates. Some of the similes are a bit cliched ("People are like rocks. Some sparkle right away, while others seem ordinary at first, but have treasure deep inside"), but the energetic illustrations, with their mini-subplots (see the startled fish and grumpy raccoon), keep it all grounded and child centered. Gorgeous colorful endpapers introduce us to such delicious rock words as feldspar, banded gneiss, and actinolite. Up-to-date suggestions for further reading include both fiction and nonfiction. This offering joins such titles as Reid's Picture a Tree (rev. 5/13) and Tamaki's They Say Blue (rev. 7/18) in the category of appreciative musings about the natural world. Sarah Ellis

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2021
Some junior rock collectors are budding geologists, interested in the origins and classification of rocks. Some have that completist gene and are hot on the quest for the perfect geode. Others just want to arrange their rocks into families, or learn to skip them, or use them for crafts. Author and illustrator of this joyful book give equal respect to every kind of rockhound, following a jaunty blue-haired girl with a sidelong grin who collects, sorts, paints, makes mosaics, pitches, and contemplates. Some of the similes are a bit cliched ("People are like rocks. Some sparkle right away, while others seem ordinary at first, but have treasure deep inside"), but the energetic illustrations, with their mini-subplots (see the startled fish and grumpy raccoon), keep it all grounded and child centered. Gorgeous colorful endpapers introduce us to such delicious rock words as feldspar, banded gneiss, and actinolite. Up-to-date suggestions for further reading include both fiction and nonfiction. This offering joins such titles as Reid's Picture a Tree (rev. 5/13) and Tamaki's They Say Blue (rev. 7/18) in the category of appreciative musings about the natural world.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)