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Title details for Rock by Laurel Croza - Wait list

Rock

by Laurel Croza
Matt James
ebook
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Wait time: About 2 weeks
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Wait time: About 2 weeks

Award-winning creators Laurel Croza and Matt James have come together once again to tell the story of what happens when a bullying seagull and a rock meet on the beach. 

When a seagull mistakes a small rock for food, it angrily spits it out. "What do you think you are?" the seagull demands. "I am a rock," the rock responds. But the seagull refuses to accept this, insisting that the rock is more like a pebble, or a stone. It predicts that the rock will be thrown into the water and sink, and even if it manages to be washed ashore, the same thing will happen again and again, until the rock is worn down to a mere speck. After all, the rock has no shine, color, crystals or speckles ... In short, it is nothing special.

But a child enjoying a day at the beach sees the rock differently, and their creation in the sand affirms what the rock has known about itself all along.

A quirky, vibrant and very memorable picture book about staying true to yourself.


Key Text Features

dialogue;illustrations


Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2

Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.4

Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    March 4, 2025

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781773069500

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      March 1, 2025
      A seagull furiously admonishes a rock. Landing on the beach, the bird bites the rock, hurting its beak. Enraged, it berates the rock: "You are too small. I see you as a pebble." The bullying quickly escalates to bleak existential threats, with the potential for evoking tears or even nightmares in sensitive children. The bird tells the rock that if it were thrown into a lake, it would be lost forever, never finding its way home, and if it does return, it will be thrown away again and again until it's "just a speck" that risks "disappearing completely...Forever gone." The rock is unperturbed, simply repeating "I am a rock" at intervals. The bird's wildly disproportionate wrath is cut off only when a tan-skinned child waves it away. Wordlessly, the youngster places the titular character into an artful arrangement of other rocks in the sand, reaffirming its worth, depicted by James' bold acrylics and inks. Still, this conclusion isn't nearly enough to outweigh the harsh tone of the text. Because the bird addresses the rock as "you," readers and listeners will experience the bird's cruelty as though it is directed straight at them. Though the author attempts to convey an underlying message about maintaining a strong sense of identity as a bulwark against bullies, many children may be too distressed to uncover it. Dismaying, with little payoff.(Picture book. 5-8)

      COPYRIGHT(2025) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read

subjects

Languages

  • English

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