A Lively Rock?

Non-fiction Picture Book Challenge 2013-Hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy!

Issue 1, Book 1/52

  Review of A Rock Is Lively!  By Dianna Hutts Aston, Illustrated by Sylvia Long

 

To begin with, these book partners (Aston and Long) have 3 other books that I am not familiar with and now want to check-out: An Egg Is Quiet, A Seed is Sleepy and A Butterfly is Patient.

I am so glad this was my first pick for the Non-fiction Picture Book Challenge.  I really loved reading this book.  The story made knowing more about rocks seem so much lighter than something cold and hard with no life-how I thought of rocks before reading this book.

 

As I opened the book,  I loved how the end papers gave a glimpse to the rocks in the story.  The beginning end paper shows the pictures of the rocks.  The ending end paper has the pictures of the  rocks labeled.  It seemed like a way to show the reader how they learned about the names of rocks after reading the story.

 

The book took me through learning about rocks by describing things like what they were made of, where they came from, and what they were used for in the world.

 

The soft watercolor illustrations were eye-appealing and beautiful to look at and added to the enjoyment of the book.



For use in the classroom, I would pair this book with other more technical books about rocks depending on the grade level and purpose for reading text...then place it in the science learning center with a magnifying glass and rock samples to see if students could classify or sort the rocks shared in the story with real rocks.

Rocks can be full of life as the authors demonstrate in this lively book! 4 of 5 stars to A Rock is Lively!