A Pocket Full of Rocks

Starred review from September 30, 2024
“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.

November 1, 2024
Throughout the year, a youngster explores all the things one can do with a pocketful of nature. Anyone who washes a child's clothes learns an important lesson--check the pockets first. But where an adult might find a jumble of rocks and other detritus, a child sees a world of comfort and possibility. Told in the second person with a repeating structure, the story follows a little one who gathers up treasures from nature and puts them to imaginative use. In the winter, a pocketful of rocks becomes "chairs for fairies to rest on." Spring flower petals are transformed into perfume. Summer brings shells that sound like the ocean, and fall acorns make "perfect hats for the fairies now that the weather is getting cool." At the end of each season, the child transfers the treasures into a jar to make room for the next discoveries. When the year ends, the young protagonist gifts them to the rest of the family. With an empty jar and a pocketful of rocks, the cycle starts again. A sour note in an otherwise sweet story is the dismissiveness of the protagonist's family. With each new pocketful, Mom, Dad, and the child's sister look up from their own activities to discourage the young narrator; petals will wilt, and collecting shells brings in sand. Still, the solitary child finds a way to make space for creativity. Soft, colorful illustrations provide quiet beauty. Characters are brown-skinned. A meditative homage to the creative universe inside a child's mind--and pockets.(Picture book. 4-8)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from November 1, 2024
Preschool-Grade 2 *Starred Review* "You can do a lot with a pocket full of rocks," muses a child on a snowy day. Their mother comments that rocks will make the child's jacket dirty. Dad asks where their other mitten will go, and their older sister calls them "just ordinary rocks." But the protagonist knows that their rocks will make excellent chairs for diminutive fairies. Besides, it's comforting to feel them in their pocket. In spring, the child collects fragrant flower petals falling from trees. In summer, their pockets are filled with seashells from the beach, and in fall, acorns on the ground. As the seasons cycle through again, the child can count on their family members to find objections, yet nothing dissuades them from filling their pockets with new treasures. And in the end, the child uses their finds to make gifts for Dad, Mom, and their sister. Mahoney's free-verse, direct address text captures the child's winsome nature as well as their unshakable determination to collect the curiosities that nature provides. One part observation and two parts inspiration, the magical artwork was created using monotype, crayon, oil paint, watercolor, collage, and digital elements. A picture book rooted in a childlike sense of intertwined fantasy and reality.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2025
Throughout the year, a child collects various objects from nature, finding comfort and creative inspiration in them. This endearing account begins in winter when the protagonist collects rocks. Deftly employing a second-person narration ("You can do a lot with a pocket full of rocks"), Mahoney introduces a pattern she follows throughout the book. The kid's parents and sister express skepticism, but the youngster pays them no mind. After all, these stones make perfect chairs for the fairies living in the child's imagination. In the ensuing sequences, the child pockets flower petals in spring, shells in summer, and acorns in autumn. The story has an effective cumulative quality to it as the protagonist places the objects into a jar at the end of each season. Mahoney carries the narrative to a satisfying resolution when the young one repurposes the finds as special gifts for each family member. Goodale's striking mixed-media illustrations perfectly convey the child's curiosity about worlds both natural and fantastical, as well as evoking the essence of each season. In a playful touch, Goodale often gives readers a see-through view inside pockets. A quiet yet vibrant celebration of nature, art, imagination, and individuality. Brian E. Wilson

(Copyright 2025 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from January 31, 2025

K-Gr 2-Despite their mother's disapproval, their father's concern for storage, and their sister's indifference, a young child finds pure delight in a pocketful of rocks. Seeing nothing but possibilities, maybe the rocks are chairs for the fairy ring or even just a creative way to write their name on the sidewalk when there's no chalk. As the seasons change, so does the collection: rocks become flower petals in spring, which turn to shells in summer, and acorns in fall. Though the family doesn't see the uniqueness of these items, the child finds wonder in each one, reinforcing a central theme of imaginative play and the beauty of seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary. The text follows a simple, rhythmic pattern that young readers will easily follow, making for a thoughtful read-aloud for story time or classroom settings. The mixed media illustrations-primarily monoprint, oil, crayon, and collage-bring the collection to life with vibrant colors. The glowing monochromatic fairies and rich, tactile artwork evoke both the real and the imaginary, capturing the essence of childhood moments that feel just as significant as any grown-up reality. This heartfelt ode to childhood's boundless imagination and the treasures it uncovers along the way will inspire conversation and creativity, in both large and small group settings. VERDICT A must-have for libraries serving young children and an excellent choice for a seasons-centered or imagination-centered story time.-Louie Lauer

Copyright 2025 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.