Q&A: Helping young readers explore curiosity about rocks through discovery and play

It's no secret that children love rocks: playing on them, stacking them, even sneaking them home in pockets. This universal curiosity about the world around us is what inspires psychotherapist and author Lisa Varchol Perron when writing books for young readers.

While in talks with publishers, an editor asked if she'd be interested in co-authoring a book with her husband, Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Taylor Perron. The result was the picture book "All the Rocks We Love," with illustrations by David Scheirer. The book introduces the many rocks showcased in it through play and discovery, two aspects that were part of the story since its inception. While aimed at readers aged 3-6, the book also includes back matter explainers about the rocks in the story to give older readers a chance to learn more.

Lisa and Taylor took a moment to talk about the writing process, working together, and tapping into our innate sense of curiosity as a means of education.

Q: Were either of you the kind of kid who had to pick up all the rocks you saw?

Lisa: Absolutely. I've always been intrigued by rocks. Our kids are, too; they love exploring, scrambling on rocks, looking on pebble beaches.

Taylor: That means we end up needing to check pockets before we put things in the laundry. Often my pockets.

Q: What has it been like formally collaborating on something?

Lisa: We've really enjoyed it. We started by brainstorming the rocks that we would cover in the book, and we wanted to emphasize the universality of kids' love for rocks. So we decided not to have a main character, but to have a variety of kids each interacting with a different rock in a special way.

Taylor: Which is a natural thing to do, because we wanted to have a wide variety of rocks that are not necessarily always found in the same place. It made sense to have a lot of different geographic settings from around the world with different kids in all of those places.

Lisa: We spent a lot of time talking about where that would be, what those rocks would be, and what was appealing about different rocks, both in terms of play and their appearance. We wanted visual variability to help readers differentiate the rocks presented. The illustrator, David Scheirer, does such beautiful watercolors. It's like you can reach in and pick up some of the rocks from the book, because they have this incredible, tangible quality.

Q: Going into that creative process, Taylor, what was it like working with the artist, finding that balance between accuracy and artistic expression?

Taylor: That was an interesting process. Something that not everyone realizes about picture books is that you're not necessarily creating the text and the art at the same time; in this case, the text was there first and art came later. David is such an amazing artist of natural materials that I think things worked out really, really well. For example, there's a line that says that mica schist sparkles in the sun, and so you want to make sure that you can see that in the illustration, and I think David did that wonderfully. We had an opportunity to provide some feedback and iterate to refine some of the geological details in a few spots.

Q: Lisa, you focus a lot on nature and science in your books. Why focus on these topics in children's literature?

Lisa: We spend a lot of time outside, and I always have questions. One of the great things about being married to Taylor is that I have a walking encyclopedia about earth science. I really enjoy sharing that sense of wonder with kids through school visits or library read-alouds. I love seeing how much they know, how delighted they are in sharing what they know, or what questions they have.

Taylor: Most of the time when I think about education, it's university education. I taught our introductory geology class for about 10 years with [Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences professor] Oli Jagoutz, and so had a lot of opportunities to interact with students who were coming out of a wide variety of secondary education circumstances in the U.S. and elsewhere. And that made me think a lot about what we could do to introduce students to earth sciences even earlier and give them more excitement at a younger age. [The book] presented a really nice opportunity to have a reach into educational environments beyond what I do in the classroom.

Q: Informal education like this is important for students coming into research and academia. Taylor, how has it influenced your own research and teaching?

Taylor: At first glance, it seems pretty different. And yet, going back to that initial discussion we had with the editors about what this book should be, one theme that clearly emerged from that was the joy of discovery and the joy of play.

In the classroom, joy of discovery is still very much something that can excite people at any age. And so, teaching students, even MIT students who already know a lot, showing them new things either in the classroom or in the field, is something that I'll remember to prioritize even more in the future.

And, while not exactly the joy of play, students at MIT love hands-on, project-based learning; something that's beyond seeing it on a slide, or that helps the picture leap off the page.

Q: Would you two consider working together again on a project?

Taylor: Yes, absolutely. We collaborate all the time: we collaborate on dinner, collaborate on kid pickups and drop-offs ...

Lisa:[Laughing] On a picture book, as well, we would definitely love to collaborate again. We're always brainstorming ideas; I think we have fun doing that.

Taylor: Going through the process once has made it clear how complementary our skills are. We're excited to get started on the next one.

Q: Who are you hoping reads the book?

Lisa: Anyone interested in learning more about rocks or tapping into their love of exploring outdoors. At all ages, we can continue to cultivate a sense of curiosity. And I hope the book gives whoever reads it an increased appreciation for the earth, because that is the first step in really caring for our planet.

Taylor: I would be happy if children and their parents read it and are inspired to discover something outdoors or in nature that they might have overlooked before, whether or not that's rocks. Sometimes you can look over a landscape and think that it's mundane, but there's almost always a story there, either in the rocks, the other natural forces that have shaped it, or biological processes occurring there.

Q: The most important question, and this is for both of you: Which rock in the book is your favorite?

Lisa: I am fascinated by fossils, so I would say limestone with fossils. I feel like I'm looking back through time.

Taylor: It's a tough one; the mica schist reminds me of where I grew up in the Green Mountains of Vermont. So that's my favorite for sentimental reasons.

The book is available for purchase on July 16 through most major booksellers. Lisa reminds people to also consider checking it out from their local library.

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