Old Rock (is not boring) by Deb Pilutti

You see a rock in a field. Are you curious about how that rock might have arrived there? After all rocks are not alive, they are not born, they don't have families and they cannot walk around. How did this rock end up here. This book is partly a narrative written for young children perhaps about identity and contentment and partly a book about the evolution of rocks!

Here is the sequence:

"I erupted out of a volcano and soared through a fiery sky ... "

"The world chilled (and) ... Old Rock took a ride in a glacier ... "

"Once the glacier melted, it left me perched at the top of a ridge ..."

"The ground rumbled and I tumbled and stumbled down, down, down into a valley."

And that is how the rock came to meet the tall pine tree, the spotted lady beetle and a lovely hummingbird. 

Publisher blurb: Old Rock has been sitting in the same spot in the pine forest for as long as anyone can remember. Spotted Beetle, Tall Pine, and Hummingbird think just sitting there must be boring, but they are in for a wonderful surprise. Fabulous tales of adventurous travel, exotic scenery, entertaining neighbors, and more from Old Rock’s life prove it has been anything but boring. Great storytellers come in all shapes, sizes, and ages, and Old Rock’s stories are sure to inspire questions that lead to wonderful conversations about the past and the natural world.

This book is perfect for young geologists and for junior classrooms - a terrific way to talk about rocks BUT now for the really bad news.  Lately (for reasons I don't understand) picture books, especially picture books from the US have become suddenly so very expensive here in Australia. No school library will be able to afford this book as it is now listed at over $40.  I borrowed it from a library who purchased it in 2020 and they paid $30. I love the way the Teacher-Librarian in this school takes the trouble to write prices and suppliers on her books. 

Deb Pilutti has a few suggested activities on her web page. Here is a video which might be useful if you cannot afford this book for your library. Old Rock was the 2022 winner of the Giverny Award. Read more about this award here. The judges said:

We predict our youngest readers will find this geologic perspective fascinating. We also suspect children, when encountering rocks in their daily lives, will view them differently after reading Old Rock (is not boring).

Throughout, Pilutti’s expressive cartoon art is punctuated by speech balloons, some with words and some with rebus like images, that add humour to the already witty main text, and the facial features she supplies her protagonist with are delightfully communicative. ...  This picture book rocks! Kirkus Star review

A multi-layered story, perfect for general story times or as a lead in to science lessons and to promote discussion and research in the classroom, Old Rock (is not boring) would be an original and exciting addition to home, classroom, and public library collections. Celebrate Picture Books

Take a look at this Pinterest collection Stones, rocks and pebbles compiled by my friend from Kinderbookswitheverything.

Here is a famous rock that I love to see in southern New South Wales. It is way bigger than the rock in this book:

Image source: Aussie Towns