The Rock From the Sky by Jon Klassen

This week we're delighted to have a post by Jackie Partch. Jackie Partch is a School Corps Librarian at Multnomah County Library, where she does outreach to K-12 students. She was a member of the 2012 Geisel committee.

A turtle, armadillo and snake (all wearing hats, of course) narrowly escape death while also navigating friendship troubles in the five chapters in this book. Klassen’s signature dark humor is evident, and these characters have those expressive eyes, found in most of his books, which are so effective in conveying emotion. How does the book stack up to the Geisel criteria, though?

  The Geisel award is given to the “most distinguished contribution to the body of American children’s literature that encourages and supports the beginning reader.” One of the definitions of distinguished is “individually distinct,” and this picture book with 96 pages (the upper range for the Geisel award) is certainly unlike most other beginning readers. Klassen is a master of pacing, and the “page-turning dynamic” is especially strong in chapter one, when the turtle shows off his favorite spot, but on the next page, readers see a rock hurtling towards it. Can the oblivious turtle be convinced to move in time? Similarly, in the last chapter, an alien creature with a gigantic laser eyeball appears to be ready to zap the (still oblivious) turtle. I know I was enticed to keep turning the pages to see what would happen. Giant rocks and aliens aside, the subject matter will be familiar to children. The turtle has an especially childlike personality, insisting to Armadillo that he doesn’t need help and is not tired. He also feels excluded when his friends hang out under the rock without him. A Geisel winner should create “a successful reading experience, from start to finish,” and the surprise ending to this story (it turns out there is more than one rock from the sky), definitely leaves the reader feeling satisfied as the story comes full circle. 

 
 The Rock from the Sky also has simple, straightforward sentences, text in a large font on an uncluttered background, and the characters frequently repeat newly introduced words in their conversations. I did have a few quibbles with this title. Some more challenging words (actually, enough, future) are included without visual support. Multiple times when characters were shouting, it was conveyed in all caps, which can be more challenging to read. In addition, like Klassen’s other books, the text is in different colors to show which character is speaking. This time, the colors are very similar, and when I read the book in different lighting, I noticed sometimes it could be more difficult to tell them apart. I wonder if first-time Klassen readers (are there any kids who haven’t already read a Jon Klassen book?) would be confused. Have you heard from kids who have read this book on their own? What were their opinions? Please leave a comment to let us know!