Charlotte and the Rock

Martin, Stephen W. Charlotte and the Rock. Illustrated by Samantha Cotterill. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2017.

Every child wants a pet and Charlotte is no different. Unfortunately, Charlotte’s idea of a pet is different than her parents’. They give her a pet rock for her birthday. Charlotte tries to remain positive – the rock is a good listener, it is quiet, it’s easy to train. In spite of the negatives – taking it for a walk is hard, it won’t eat her vegetables or her homework – Charlotte and the rock become best friends. There is one thing the rock can’t do, however, love her back. Author Stephen Martin has included a cute surprise at the end of this picture book. It is quite obvious he knows young children. I think the text will have a lot of appeal for younger elementary students. Samantha Cotterill did a great job with the illustrations – they show the story and go beyond in places. The surprise toward the end is actually shown in the pictures before it is told in the text. She drew her illustrations on watercolor paper and then colored them digitally. The subdued tones remind me of the illustrations in some of my favorite picture books when I was a child.

Charlotte and the Rock is on the Land of Enchantment list this year. I see no areas of concern and won’t hesitate to add the book to my collection.

Charlotte and the Rock is available from Amazon. Thanks for using my affiliate link which helps to support this children’s literature blog.