A Pocket Full of Rocks

“You can do a lot with a pocket full of rocks,” begins this picture book debut by Mahoney (Elfie Unperfect), as Goodale (The Moon Remembers) draws a parka-clad child with light brown skin bending down to collect a stone in the snow. Pocketing the treasure, the youth’s face remains tranquil as family members remark: “Your mom will say the rocks are making your coat dirty.” The child, though, knows that the stones “are chairs for fairies to rest on.... They are exactly the thing for writing your name on the sidewalk when you don’t have chalk.” The rocks are swapped for petals in spring, seashells in summer, and acorns in fall, each grouping placed in a jar rendered, like the child’s pockets, as transparent. Goodale creates gently textured natural backdrops while drawing human figures with simple, skilled outlines. Many rich threads intersect in this seasonal meditation, including the feeling of delight and abundance supplied by natural objects, a child’s inner confidence and imagination even in the face of commentary, and the anchoring effect of an object that’s “just there in your pocket when you need something to touch, gathered and solid and cool.” Ages 3–7. Author’s agent: Sarah Burnes, Gernert Co. Illustrator’s agent: Lori Kilkelly, LK Literary. (Jan.)