When learning about science, geography and history children
need to be swept away - to be transported. Such is the power of the impressionistic
lessons embedded in the cultural curriculum of a Montessori classroom. These
great stories excite and surprise, and open-up new ways of thinking about the
universe and time.
Who has not once picked up a stone that spoke to us in some mysterious
way and slipped it into our pocket, or carried it with us - admiring its color
or feeling its unique texture and weight as we walked along? Stones such as
these tell the stories of our travels; indeed, they seem to conjure the very
memories of where they were found, years distant from their discovery.
In The Pebble in My Pocket: A History of Our Earth, written
by Meredith Hooper and illustrated by Chris Coady, a common pebble is the
ticket to ride. Children relate to the story by first remembering the rounded
stones in their gardens, those along the sidewalks on the way to school, and ones
found in the gullies near to where they play.
The book opens by taking that relationship a step further,
asking “Where did you come from, pebble?
Hooper’s animated prose moves the reader through the Earth’s
geologic history, telling the story of one pebble’s journey in language that is
child-friendly, descriptive and energized. Coady’s vibrant drawings of how
weathering and erosion have transformed, and continued to transform, the planet’s
surface enrich the story and make the content very approachable.
“It has always happened. It will always happen. It is happening
now. All that is needed is time.”
Playfully, both author and illustrator allow the reader to experience
geologic time by highlighting the major transformations of local landscapes, climate
changes, and the pebble’s interaction with intriguing extinct creatures. Each
pair of pages draws us nearer to more fully understanding the humble pebble sitting
on our own bureaus or desks or bedside tables.
The Pebble in My Pocket offers a novel perspective on
a common item, found easily and often looked over or taken for granted. Certainly,
much of the book’s power rests in just that: spotlighting the beauty in the
seemingly mundane and telling that tale. Beyond cultivating a deeper appreciation
of science, however, could the story told here also be a metaphor for the quest
for greater interpersonal acceptance? How often have we each felt simple and
ordinary? How often have we wished for greater understanding beyond what others
might see or perceive on the surface?
“Every pebble has its own story.”
ISBN-10: 0711210764
ISBN 13: 978-0-7112-1076-9
Additional titles in this series:
ISBN-10: 0670876186
ISBN-13: 978-0670876181
