The Pebble in My Pocket: A History of Our Earth

by Meredith Hooper, Chris Coady (Illustrator)

New in paperback! Where do pebbles come from? How were they made? This book tells the story of a pebble, from its origins in a fiery volcano 480 million years ago to a busy, modern landscape. Readers follow the processes of rock formation and erosion that create new pebbles all over the world.

"Hooper and Coady pass on a sense of wonder for the history contained in one small pebble....Coady provides spectacular paintings, given texture, weight, and movement by the strokes of his brush." - Kirkus Reviews

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Geology, History, Picture Books, Childrens, Geography

40 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1996

About the author

Meredith Hooper uses the storybook form in Who Built the Pyramid? to make the latest research accessible for a young audience. Meredith Hooper is an historian by training and the author of many books, ranging in subject from Antarctica to aviation, from the history of water to the history of inventions.
Hooper, born in 1939, graduated in history from the University of Adelaide, then studied imperial history at Oxford.

Reviews

[Mathew]

I had put off reading this for years because every time I opened it, I could tell it wasn't a picturebook at all: too dense with text and too factual. And then I came back to it and thought 'consider it an information text' and I was in!
A history of our Earth, from a mostly geological perspective, follows the journey of a single pebble from before anything lived on our planet right back to the moment where it rests between the fingertips of an inquisitive girl. This book is a concise, clever, very well tempered recount of the history of our planet.
Each double-page spread is filled, landscape-style, with a full-page bleed of tempestuous landscapes. Text mainly sits at the top and although dense, I don't think I'd take anything away from Hooper's writing: she packs a lot into the millions of years that lie on every page. The narrative focuses mostly on the gradual erosion of this one pebble which begun life as a rock fragment that tumbled down a mountainside 390 millions years ago. It shelters early mammals, gets tramped by dinosaurs and sinks into silt: all cleverly considered and brought to life through Coady's rich illustrations which are, thankfully, given the space they deserve. A handy timeline is added at the back.

[Gabriella]

I have just read The Pebble in my Pocket by Meredith Hooper.
The book introduces the geological history of the Earth by following the story of a pebble, from its origins in a volcano 480 million years ago, to its place in a busy modern landscape.

Great book to assist in children's learning for example in a unit of work as it could be used for many cross-curricular links to lots of other subjects. The illustrations are fantastic are dominant on each page, the information is detailed and accompanies the information being discussed. Would highly recommend this book. I like how on each page you can see the pebble in each illustration even the most detailed illustrations. At the back of the book is a geological timeline showing the main period of the earth's history, starting from 4600 million years ago. Animals not named in the book are labeled clearly on the timeline. The book is based upon a single pebble and how that is formed, however, the animals that are illustrated are from locations all over the world and were included to show a typical geological time in which they lived.

This book has many teaching opportunities:
English:
- Author study of Meredith Hooper and Chris Coady.
- Children could write as if they are the volcano.
- Write a fact sheet about volcanoes.
- Children story map their own journey of a pebble. Children must use an actual volcano and the pebble must take a journey that is realistic.
- Interview a local resident who lives near a volcano. Imagine that they are returning from a recent eruption (Diary Entry)

Maths:
- Work out nearest volcano, how far away is it from the school?
- How tall is a volcano?
- The distance between the elements discussed in the book

Science:
- rocks and soils
- earthquakes and volcanoes
- tectonic plates

History:
- History of the Earth Timelines/time periods
- Timelines of the animals
- research about the different time periods discussed

Geography:
- Mountain and volcano environment.
- A journey of a pebble from a Mountain to coastland.
- Describe and understand Mountains and volcanoes.
- Create a mind map of animal, habitats, protection, adaption, and nutrition

Music:
- Soundscape of pebble from mountain to sea using own symbols.
Outdoor Learning/ DT/ Art:
- In the style of an artist use pastels and watercolours to create mountain paintings
- Collect pebbles and make a mosaic.

[Mrs G]

The history of our planet told through the journey of a pebble. Engaging with lovely illustrations. It went down very well with my Year 3s: there were 'wows' aplenty! A difficult concept told through a story - very good.

[Catherine]

A great book to share and realise the significance of the the pebbles under our feet. It is exciting to consider the tremendous journey through time and geographically that a humble pebble has been through. 😊

[Lauren Davies]

This book creatively appears to blur the line between fiction and non-fiction, Hooper presenting a geological history of a pebble, right up to the present day where it is picked up by a curious young girl who questions its journey up to now.

Although densely written, with lots of information to digest, Hooper brilliantly captures the idea that everything on Earth has a story, bringing life to such an everyday object. The pebble is so seemingly mundane in fact, that before its history is delved in to, it is described simply as ‘round and smooth and brown’. I have seen this text used as a great springboard for fascinating conversations in the classroom, as pupils reflect on the rich and ongoing history of something that they otherwise would probably not give a second thought to. There is a very useful timeline at the back of the book, too, which can help the reader to appreciate when the different events have occurred in relation to one another.

[Chris Austin]

Wonderfully written book depicting the history of a single pebble! The detailed language, accompanied by the pictures, really does manage to 'walk' you through both the planets history and this journey that the pebble has embarked on just to get to where it is today.

[Katie]

This didn't flow like I had assumed it would: there's a pebble in my pocket oh, it was once this... and so on. It was more just like "where did you come from pebble?" Volcanic rock facts, etc. etc.
But it does give a lot of information about how this rock could've moved through the earth to become that puzzle. And then at the end, it finally talks about how HER pebble.
There is a cool time line of sorts in the back.
As a whole, this wasn't a very exciting book to read. As soon as I opened it, I was like that's too many words, I don't want to read all those so I can imagine students having the same thought.
Maybe, since it is broken down into time periods, pairs could read a one short bit and then present the important info to the class. Or like together we can create some kind of cool rock process poster with these cool, interesting facts as supplements.

[A R]

I'm about to use this to teach 'Rocks' to our Year 3 classes at school. It is quite dense and may be tricky for some of them but it is excellently detailed with lots of great language which is very helpful as all our English lessons will be based on it. The illustrations are excellent as well - very dramatic!

I am looking forward to teaching with it and I hope and think that the children will love it (when broken down into digestible chunks). I would say that it is too much information to read to children in one go unless they are considerably older, maybe around 11 years of age. Although it is a picture book, there is a lot of information to take in.

[Paige Lloyd]

This book was clear for the pupils to read with its repetition of the final sentence over each double-page spread. Children are encouraged to join in and intrigued by the progression over time as to how the world around them is changing and as to what time period this was in. It links extremely well geographically to topics such as Volcanoes, Mountains and Earthquakes with the discussion of how these can impact the rocks and pebbles we see today. It encouraged children to investigate in their own time and collect pebbles to form scientific discussions as to their origins which was positive to see.

[Issy]

This book is for my upcoming placement. At first, I thought there were too many facts for it to be a picture book, but as I carried on reading it was really informative but in a storytelling way. It compares the different periods of history and what happened to her rock. I thought it was good for use in history and geography lessons as it can be used as a starter or as a plenary activity. My favourite part at the end was the bit at the pack as it shoes all the different geological time periods, giving even more information.

[Mrs. Burden]

My daughter picked this for part of her reading challenge. Although it is a picture book, the text is longer & higher level than expected. However, my daughter liked the book and after reading we found our own pebbles and wrote a “history” of our pebbles.

[Amy]

An excellent non-fiction book to bring geology to life for children!

[Danielle]

Great book to use alongside the topic of Volcanos and Rocks.

[Becca Hall]

Very cool book to use with science lessons to teach about rocks and geology! It is a neat story and very informative as well

[Taylar Sizemore]

An ideal book to introduce rock cycles and how rocks age to students in upper elementary school.

[Jill]

This book is about the history of the Earth through a pebble. I am nine years. I like natural history. I also like the descriptions in this book. I recommend this book.

[Alicia Moore]

Very interesting. Showing the amazing journey of something as overlooked as a pebble.

[KaitandMaddie]

I bought this because Kait is studying rocks and minerals this year but I think Maddie may have liked it more.

[Georgina Rump]

I love how this book follows the journey of a pebble, something that can be seen, felt, found. The animals, dates, etc is secondary to the journey of the non-living piece of history

[Meredith Hourihan]

Beautiful picture book that tells the story of a pebble and all it witnesses from the Hadean eon to now. Wonderfully illustrated, bringing geology to life for kids.

[Alex Shapardanis]

best book ever

[Kirsty]

interesting sweep through time

[Natalia]

‘The pebble in my pocket is round and smooth and brown.’ This is a wonderfully factual account of the journey made by one tiny pebble over 480 million years of earth’s history. It begins by explaining the process of rock formation and erosion documenting each step of the journey which the pebble would have taken in order to reach its present form. It also explains the continuum of the geosphere which provides the reader with lots to think about. Coadys’ intricate illustrations teamed with Hoopers’ detailed narrative makes for an engrossing and informative read. It really has completely changed the way I think of pebbles; “each pebble has come from its own special rock, each was made in its own time and place.”

I particularly liked the geological time line which was provided at the back of the book. This illustrates the main periods in the earth’s history and would be great to further examine with pupils in class. Furthermore the animals which are illustrated throughout the book are typical of the times in history being described on each page; this would add further weight to class discussions and activities.

The book is targeted at key stages 2 and 3 and touches on multiple aspects of the curriculum including both English and Science.

[Beth]

Still a hit in Year 4.
___________________________
Turns out my class LOVE volcanoes.
Yeah they enjoyed it and their diaries and setting descriptions are fab so that's something... Thank you, Meredith Hooper.
_________________________
I adore this book - 4.5*

This book is rich! The depth of the vocabulary is actually beautiful and I totally commend Hooper for using this so carefully and clearly. It is a hidden non-fiction book but the storytelling in it is so enticing and engaging. I have learned so much about the history of the Earth just from one book. Hooper, I'm so excited to explore this with my new Y4s (2018-2019).

This will be my second book covered in Y4 and I am extremely looking forward to using this in English. I am hoping to immerse the children in the Stone Age with a variety of fiction and then setup a 'Book World Cup' to find our next pleasure read.

[Grace]

This book is a cinematic tale of the history of our earth through the story of a pebble in a child’s pocket. I imagine the book would be aimed at upper key stage two children. It’s written in the first person and from the perspective of a young child, which would help to draw in the reader. However, in my opinion, this tool is not utilised enough as the middle section is quite long with a very matter of fact tone. Despite this, it would still be a useful addition to the classroom in the sense that it might spark an interest in history or geography in some children. I also like the additional historical timeline at the end which I think would be quite intriguing for a child.

[Charlotte Lander]

I didn't particularly enjoy reading this book as it is very factual about the journey of a pebble made over 480 million years ago through earths history. However, it would be an excellent book to refer to in the humanitarian subjects to touch on erosion and how a rock travels. It would also be very useful for children that are interested in geology and the history of the earth.

[Christina Reid]

We used this as a springboard to learn about different types of rocks, geologic ages, and much more. While the big numbers take some getting used to, this is a fascinating account of the story of a single pebble throughout millions of years of prehistory and history!
This is a very dense book, but it is absolutely fascinating and held my class spellbound.

[Joyce Munzwandi]

Grade level: 5th

This book gives a good explanantion about the history of the earth. Its a good book to use for 5th grade and teach about the geology. Students can make a time scale of the existence of things on earth.

[Wes Ballou]

A great book for teaching about the geological time scale! It is a really fun thought to think about the Earth we walk on and what it has been through.

[Michaela]

A great book for teaching about the history of the Earth and the properties. Great for teaching about the geological time scale.