I, Rock: A Geology Tale

by Katie Slivensky, Steph Stilwell (Illustrator)

Overview

“Rockhounds will delight in finding out how rocks are born” (School Library Journal, starred review) in this charmingly funny and thoroughly informative nonfiction picture book told from the perspective of a proud four-billion-year-old rock.

Rock tells his sensational, sometimes harrowing, sometimes hilarious, geological tale to a group of eager students. From his humble beginnings beneath Earth’s crust, to a volcano blast that propelled him onto land, to the storms and earthquakes and dinosaur encounters and deep-sea adventures that finally bring him to the bottom of a student’s shoe, come discover what makes Rock rock!

Detailed informational sidebars and extensive backmatter are the cherry on top of this illuminating and accessible crash course in geology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781665940368
Publisher:	Beach Lane Books
Publication date:	06/10/2025
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Katie Slivensky is a professional science educator and enthusiast with science degrees from the University of Michigan and Stony Brook University. She is the critically acclaimed author of two middle grade novels, The Countdown Conspiracy and The Seismic Seven, and the picture books This Wolf Was Different, illustrated by Hannah Salyer, and I, Rock, illustrated by Steph Stilwell. Katie lives just outside Boston with her family, including her cat, Darwin. Visit her at KatieSlivensky.com.

Steph Stilwell is a New York Times bestselling illustrator of books including I, Rock by Katie Slivensky and I Love You So Mush! by Dori Elys. Steph received her BFA in illustration from MICA and has since collaborated with clients like American Greetings, Snapchat, BarkBox, and Trader Joe’s. When she isn’t making work for clients, you’ll likely find her scribbling in her sketchbook, binge-watching a cooking show, or baking. Steph is based in Brooklyn, New York, and you can learn more at StephStilwell.com.

Editorial Reviews

Rock explains with humorous yet informative visuals and snappy, personalized descriptions how it cycles through the three types of rock (igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic) over time. Whether blasted from a volcano, thrown onto land by a tsunami, or kicked by dinosaurs, the seemingly boring life of a rock is anything but.

05/01/2025 - Booklist

A rock . . . pipes up to retrace its own four-billion-year history. That the same rock can change repeatedly from one type to another may be the main lesson readers will absorb. . . though the note of self-affirmation toward the end (“I’m proud to say that I’m here, I’m me, and...I ROCK!”) will never go amiss.

05/01/2025 - Kirkus

A stone-focused read that strikes a rich vein of fun.

3/17/2025 - Publishers Weekly

*Nonfiction cloaked in fiction, geology and the rock cycle are illustrated by a jovial cartoon rock with stick figure limbs as it delves into its rich four-billion-year-old story. A must-purchase for nonfiction collections as rockhounds will delight in finding out how rocks are born.

6/1/25 - School Library Journal

2025-04-04
A student’s class report about interviewing a senior citizen takes on unexpected perspective when a rock in his shoe pipes up to retrace its own four-billion-year history.

Depicted in the cartoon illustrations as a small, potato-shaped pebble with googly eyes, the rocky raconteur begins by noting that it’s made up of minerals such as quartz, zircon, and biotite. It then proceeds to describe a journey that began with a two-billion-year stay in Earth’s mantle (“Wow, I was down there for ages”), followed by repeated exciting experiences with volcanoes (KABLOOEY!”) and other geological forces—as well as transformations along the way from igneous to sedimentary to metamorphic. That the same rock can change repeatedly from one type to another may be the main lesson readers will absorb from this breezy round, though the note of self-affirmation toward the end (“I’m proud to say that I’m here, I’m me, and…I ROCK!”) will never go amiss. The children cheering at the end are racially diverse, as well as plainly prepared to take in Slivensky’s concluding expanded set of basic geological facts and an easy pop quiz.

A quick overview, sure to leave broader views of deep time in its wake. (source list)(Informational picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews