Bring Me a Rock!

Bring Me a Rock! feels an awful lot like a fable about the dangers of being greedy and power hungry versus the value of even the littlest 'bug'. The rude grasshopper orders the other bugs to build him a tower fit for a 'king'. But when the littlest bug shows up with a pebble he is summarily rejected. But when the grasshopper ends up in trouble, it's the littlest bug who steps up with a big solution. Miyares illustrations are the real stars here as he uses the power of size and perspective to emphasize the differences in power and influence. The facial expressions and the use of color are masterful as is the changing text and shape of the rock. The young readers will undoubtedly figure out that the grasshopper's in trouble without any words being said. This book does have words, but it's the pictures, the visuals, that really tell the story here. This book makes for an interesting read, a great teaching opportunity, and an award-worthy picture book.

My son loves this book. It's a lot of action with few words which allows my son to use more of his imagination and really get into it. I looked into other books by the same author but they don't have the same quality.

Great book highlighting the importance of folks who are little. Even by two year old gets it!

A demanding grasshopper wearing a crown insists that the other insects bring him a rock! Big rocks to build his pedestal so that it is suitable for a king. So the insects bring back rocks and the king accepts most of them with little grace. One though, carried by the smallest insect is not worthy of being part of his pedestal and is rejected along with the little bug who brought it. Now the grasshopper king has created a pedestal to sit high upon with all of the rocks piled one upon another. But it is not balanced and begins to tip. Luckily though, the small pebble that the little bug brought is just right to save the day.Miyares has written this picture book entirely in dialogue and almost all of it in the imperious and demanding voice of the grasshopper. That makes for a great read aloud where storytellers can get into the character and exaggerate it for comic effect. Then the little bug also speaks and in the end equalizes the roles of all of the insects alongside the king. The end is a welcome twist where the kind is on his pedestal but so are all of the other bugs too.The illustrations are done in watercolor and digital resulting in a book that is filled with light and lush greens. The grasshopper and the other insects are colorful against the yellow sky and greenery and the critical pebble glows white on the page, immediately showing its importance even before it is used.Read this one aloud with plenty of energy and dynamics and it will add plenty of zing to any summer story time. Appropriate for ages 2-5.

As another reviewer said, it's good for a read-aloud to a group - 3-5 year olds are the best range, I think. The story is told through dialogue which would be fun to read aloud and imperiously. What I like: I teach a STEM enrichment preschool (see my blog Inventors of Tomorrow) and for our Tower Building week, we sometimes build rock towers. This book goes nicely with that project. I like that it shows using a shim near the bottom of the stack to stabilize the stack. It's nice that the little guy ends up being a "hero". What I don't like as much - the ending. When little guy is asked what he wants for "re-payment" for his heroics, he has the insects build towers so they can all be equally high up... let's all be privileged together. I would prefer dividing up the king's giant stack to make several reasonable height stacks. (Also, my husband questions whether bugs ever make stacks of rocks... he's a stickler for more scientific accuracy in books than I am.....)

Bossy grasshopper wants his minions to bring him the biggest rocks and build his mighty throne. Little bug though can only carry a pebble which angers Grasshopper who sends little bug away. Will Grasshopper ever see little bugs' worth?This is a bossy picture book that tries to tell you what to think but in the end, lets you decide for yourself which is what it was supposed to do.#mustread #PBWritten and illustrated by Daniel Miyares. Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

The illustrations in this book are wonderful! From this story kids will glean that size doesn’t matter, that being little doesn’t mean you aren’t wise. It also shows how those who seem strongest or in charge and who may boss or bully others around don’t know everything and aren’t immune to falling and needing help. I like how the “useless” pebble and the little bug save the day. A likeable story! Kids will love the bugs and the rich colors in this book!

In many ways this book feels derivative of Pixar’s “A Bug’s Life”. The greedy grasshopper, demanding all the other bugs to give it things, bugs that are awfully similar in look... that aside, so, so ending with a moderate punchline ending.