We painted some rocks the other day, inspired partly by a painted rock paperweight my grandma has on her desk that one of my uncles made, and partly by one of Byrd Baylor's books. We've been reading them lately after being turned on to them by Ginger Carlson.
I love them all, but Maia's favorite by far is Everybody Needs a Rock. In all of Baylor's books the text is wonderful, the message meaningful, and the illustrations (by Peter Parnall) spare and perfect.
The page above reads:
Everybody needs a rock. I'm sorry for kids who don't have a rock for a friend. I'm sorry for kids who only have TRICYCLES, BICYCLES, HORSES, ELEPHANTS, GOLDFISH, THREE-ROOM PLAYHOUSES, FIRE ENGINES, WIND-UP DRAGONS, AND THINGS LIKE THAT -- if they don't have a rock for a friend.
So good. We've been reading this one almost daily.
So anyway, we collected some rocks and decided to paint them with acrylics. Now I know this isn't exactly the message Byrd Baylor is trying to get across. First of all, rocks are best completely au naturel. And secondly, her book is about choosing the perfect rock for you. And here we are collecting a whole egg carton full of rocks and painting them... But rocks are fun to paint sometimes. And we're still seeking our perfect rocks. We may follow rule number 1 (If you can, go to a mountain made out of nothing but a hundred million small shiny beautiful roundish rocks.) and look for rocks next time we go hiking.
Here's our egg carton of painted rocks. Two by me, twelve by Maia.
