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.

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

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)