MELISSA KOCH MEET & GREET

PETALUMA --

We are so excited about this book! How many kids love to pick up and save rocks? How many know the difference between a rock and a stone? We learned it from this book - and now they’ll learn how that stones and rocks got here. Please have your child bring their favorite rock to show Melissa!

So, what's it about?

Changed by billions of years and shaped by human hands, the stones that make up our homes, roadways, buildings, and bridges are a part of our story. Earth's story.

From ancient cairns to castles, from the Great Wall of China to Maya cities, the stone structures we build tell us who we are, what we value, what we fear, and who we want to be. The story begins deep below the Earth's surface. All those stones start with a rock.

Stone by Stone invites readers to consider how geology, engineering, and human history connect. The book opens with a striking and dramatic description of the rock cycle before delving into the many ways humans have used stones across history to rebuild, reconnect, and reimagine our place on Earth.

Melissa Koch's lyrical language takes readers on a journey through the world's stone structures, highlighting the human side of science. Victoria Tentler-Krylov's art vibrates with energy, capturing the fire of the earth and the spirit of invention that lives inside all of us.

Author info!

Melissa Koch writes nonfiction children's books that focus on making science and social justice personal and valuable to kids. For YA readers, Melissa has written 3D Printing: The Revolution in Personalized Manufacturing and Forest Talk: How Trees Communicate. She has also designed award-winning learning technologies and out-of-school learning experiences that encourage women and youth from diverse backgrounds to pursue their dreams in STEM. Stone by Stone is Melissa's debut picture book. She lives with her family in an old house with a solid stone foundation in a small Iowa town surrounded by limestone bluffs.

Review Quotes:
The verse itself feels stacked and fitted like masonry, spare and load-bearing. . . . Restless yet reverent digitally finished watercolors . . . with a palette that shifts and dazzles with each page turn and purpose. The result is a book that's as tactile as its subject, at once intimate and epic.
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

[S]ure to leave younger readers with a greater appreciation for this most common, versatile, and durable of materials-John Peters
--School Library Journal

Tentler-Krylov's illustrations have a warm, textured watercolor-and-pencil feel. . . . A thoughtful look at the stories stone can tell.
--Kirkus Reviews

Detailed illustrations and rhythmic, concise text come together effortlessly in this alluring offering to tell stories about stones. . . . The rich back matter extends this book's usefulness as supplementary curriculum support across an array of subjects. . . . A solid, handsome addition for STEAM collections.
--Booklist