Review by Booklist Review
This picture book traces the birth and many transformations of a simple rock. The action begins 130 million years ago on the slopes of a smoldering volcano and continues to present day, to a few small boulders scattered on the side of a paved sidewalk in a state park. There is very little text; sometimes there's no print at all or just a few descriptive words per page, sometimes only a brief sentence or two. Vivid, page-filling illustrations featuring intense reds and brilliant blues propel the action, using simple line drawings and large blocks of color to show tremendous pressure compressing underground layers, enormous amounts of energy triggering mudslides and lava flows, and gentle rain and ocean waves gently eroding and grinding the rock down over centuries. Readers will enjoy following the rock, especially as it occasionally disappears and reappears. Back matter and suggested resources help fill in vocabulary and background information. This quiet offering is perfect for taking the time to reflect on the wonders of small, everyday things--like rocks.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In the final images of this geological odyssey, a park ranger points out an unassuming gray rock that sits on the side of a hiking trail--a humble presence that, as Ho (A Taste of Home) and Williams (Look on the Bright Side) examine in the preceding pages, is actually a time-traveling witness to and participant in millennia of dramatic transformations. Minimalist, measured text and cartooned scenes that feature multiple cross sections walk readers through timescales beyond human experience, emphasizing how a rock goes through multiple iterations: "Heat melts it./ Pressure shapes it./ The rock reforms.../ ...into something new." The work captures various forces that impact the rock as it moves, from its first appearance on the side of a smoking mountain 130 million years ago to sharing a landscape with dinosaurs 90 million years ago, tumbling into ocean depths 10 million years ago, and, coming full circle, blasting into the sky in a 1980 volcanic eruption. It's a long-form reminder that even the most ordinary objects can contain extraordinary histories. Characters are portrayed with various abilities and skin tones. More about rocks concludes. Ages 4--8. Author's agent: Emily Mitchell, Wernick & Pratt. Illustrator's agent: Minju Chang, Bookstop Literary. (July)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2--The rock cycle is simply told over 130 billion years, as one rock undergoes a transformation of weathering through lava, mud, and weather, and is broken into pieces underneath sediment to be reborn. Minimal text and captions highlight how time moves slowly for the rock, even as life moves on around it. Digital illustrations are clean and rich, careful to highlight the rock as it becomes a grain of sediment and enlarging it to depict microscopic minerals and crystals. Most pages are full-bleed spreads. One spread requires readers to turn the book sideways as the rock falls into the sea; for some readers, this may throw off the rhythm. The narrative is clean and uses some scientific terms, such as magma, lava, and tectonic plates, which young children may need an assist in decoding. The text, despite the overuse of ellipses, explains the rock cycle well. Back matter includes an explanation of the three kinds of rocks and a fuller understanding of how this particular rock transitioned. That back matter is aimed at a more mature audience and lacks a glossary. Purchasers may want to consider Xelena González's Where Wonder Grows and Heather Ferranti Kinser's Nature Is a Sculptor to complement and supplement this title. VERDICT This is a fine additional selection for libraries in need of materials on the rock cycle.--Rachel Zuffa
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
"Forged in fire" and "cooled by air," a rock born from a volcanic explosion 115 million years ago undergoes dramatic shifts throughout its long life. Readers first glimpse the rock from an unusual perspective: through the chunky legs of a dinosaur. As time passes, mammals and birds replace dinosaurs, and the rock changes as well: "Rain softens it. Wind whittles it." Mud and water eventually sweep the rock into the sea--a dynamic scene that requires readers to turn the book to follow its trail. Water eventually transforms the rock into a grain of sand until it undergoes its sedimentary phase, depicted in a beautiful cutaway scene as layers of plants and animals press down upon the rock. Accompanied by Williams' bold, color-saturated images, Ho's simple, declarative sentences move the action along at a swift clip. "Plates collide. Mountains grow." The rock disappears underground, where it undergoes its metamorphic phase of heating, melting, and transforming. In 1980, a volcanic eruption (Mt. St. Helens, per the backmatter) thrusts the newborn rock onto the ground of a contemporary national park, where a diverse group of people learn about its history. An appropriately fast-moving and energetic chronicle. (information about types of rocks and the rock life cycle, sources)(Informational picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
