Flood, N.B. (2009). Sand to Stone and Back Again. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing.
9781555916572
30-Second Plot Summary: Through poetic lines Flood and photographer, Tony Kuyper, share the story of the Monument Valley rocks of Utah and Arizona, how the rocks shift and change over eras and the way people change as well. The story draws attention to the impact seeing the natural formations can have on tourists and also the Anasazi tribe which inhabits the area.
Kuyper's photos are well-composed and show many different perspectives and formations of the rocks which will most likely make readers pause to take in the beauty.
Flood's prose are wonderfully poetic, making sure to try to connect the reader to the history of the Monument Valley.
The book does assume a scientific explanation of how man and the formations were created, so some teachers looking for religious explanations should look elsewhere or should take on a natural design argument. And seeing some of the beauty of the rocks, it wouldn't be a hard argument to take on.
Activities:
Sand to Stone lends itself to discussions of natural science at large and erosion. A teacher could also focus on the Anasazi tribe, encouraging students to research the tribe, their tales, their beliefs.
Since flood uses poetry to describe natural phenomenon, students can do the same. Beyond just writing poems about their local environment, students can incorporate research into their poems and can even take a few photos to go along with the lines they create.
Quotes of Note:
"I am a goblin hiding in moon shadows.
Or a hoodoo
standing atop a white shale shelf."
"I am sandstone.
I am always changing,
just like you."
"From one tiny cell, you became a person.
From on grain of sand, I became a mountain."
Tasty Rating: !!!
Oh do try to get hold of a copy of the poem called A Speck Speaks by Adrian Mitchell - it would go so perfectly with this book, and is a brilliant poem in its own right.
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