What Can You Do with a Rock?

“Some people don’t notice rocks.” But a light-skinned child with blue hair and an eager expression is the very model of a rock connoisseur in Zietlow Miller and Kath’s picture book, which offers a litany of answers to the titular question. As watercolor illustrations celebrate the child’s passion—showing rocks in piles, boxes, and natural settings—text reveals that a rock can be kicked, skipped, dropped, sorted, studied, and even used as a currency of connection, among other autonomy-building options (“Should your tiny white rock go with other tiny rocks? With other white rocks?... Only you can decide”). The book’s premise stretches a little thin when reaching for metaphor (“People are like rocks. Some sparkle right away”), but this is a lively, emotionally resonant celebration of rocks as well as humans’ ways of connecting with and learning about the natural world. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)