By Christine McFaul
Rick the Rock of Room 214 is a humorous new picture book by author Julie Falatko and Canadian illustrator Ruth Chan.
For as long as he can remember, Rick the Rock has sat with acorn, moss, and bark on the Nature Finds shelf in Room 214. Room 214 is an exuberantly busy classroom, and Rick can’t help but feel a little jealous of all the exciting things the students get to do. Then the teacher starts a new unit all about rocks—rocks that explode, rocks that hold up the world, and rocks that sit majestically on top of mountains—and Rick gets really jealous.
It seems like outside of the classroom, rocks are spending their days doing all manner of exciting things. While all Rick gets to do is sit in a very boring and decidedly non-majestic manner on the Nature Finds shelf. So, when an opportunity presents itself for Rick to escape, he takes it. He tips off the shelf and into an open backpack and makes up for lost time by doing all the things that rocks in the real world get to do. Except it turns out, in the great outdoors, most of what rocks do is just sit! The other rocks aren’t very friendly, it rains, and Rick soon finds himself in danger—of becoming really, really lonely that is. Suddenly, Rick would give anything to get back to his old shelf. But how can a stationary rock make its way back to Room 214?
Falatko’s writing is simple and humorous. It finds a unique way to explore the universal experience of thinking “the grass is greener on the other side” while also being informative and including fun facts about rocks that are perfectly digestible for the picture book age range.
Chan’s illustrations are colourful and child friendly. Packed with tons of clever details that help to propel the story and amp up the humour. In one spread (my favourite one), Chan even manages to make a field of rocks hilarious.
Rick the Rock of Room 214 is fantastic. The illustrations are smart and expressive. The writing is funny and heartwarming (which, if you follow my reviews, you’ll know is a combination I am completely powerless to resist!). So, of course, I loved this book. Special shout-out for a great cover—bright, uncrowded, and fun, with a mix of textures and a small but charming gold star detail.
This book would make an especially great choice for picture book readers who are experiencing a class environment (so pre-school or J/K+). This way, they can best appreciate the school elements presented in the story.
Thank you, Simon & Schuster Canada, for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.