Rocks+in+His+Head

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By Katie Atwater =**__Bibliographical Data __**=

Publication Date: 2001

Publisher: Greenwillow Books/Harper Collins Publishers

ISBN: 0-06-029403-5 Pages: 32 Illustrator: James Stevenson Grades: PreK-3

__Summary__ The father and his grandfather opened up a gas station. This gas station would hold the rocks that the father has been collecting since he was a little boy. The Depression then forced his family to sell their gas station and house, but the father never lost his interest in rocks. The father would visit the science museum on rainy days when he couldn’t find work. The science museum wouldn’t allow father to work as a mineralogist, but they did need a night janitor. Father took the job. The director of the museum walked in one morning to find him fixing a mislabeled rock. The director then tells the good news that the board of directors understood that the museum needed someone with “rocks in his head”. In the end, father was hired as a curator of mineralogy for the science museum.

__Review__ “Rocks in His Head” is a great book to great. The theme is very prominent in the book and is great to teach children to never give up on what they love. I found this book easy to connect to as a reader and I think that’s what makes reading enjoyable as a student. There was also a great reading and discussion guide that went along with the book. (I have posted the link below.)

__Analysis of Literary Element__ The theme in this book is never give up. In the book, we learn that Father lost his job at the gas station. Father never gave up looking for a job after he had lost that one. He also never gave up on his passion for rocks. These two passions allowed father to find a job at the science museum and continue his passion for rocks. I think this is an important theme to teach to students. Students should never give up if they get frustrated and aren’t able to do something. I would hope that after reading this book, students will have a passion for something and never give it up.

__Author Biography__ Carol Otis Hurst is a nationally-known storyteller, lecturer, author and language arts consultant. She was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on October 13, 1933 and sadly passed away at age 73 on January 22, 2007. She had taught for many years, with experience in classrooms from pre-school through third grade. Her interest in children’s books led her to work at a school library. She has traveled throughout all 50 states and even out of the country to teach others about children’s literature and storytelling.

__Related Links__ http://www.massbook.org/reading_guides/rocks_head_guide.pdf @http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/rocksinhishead.html