The Flying Rock

Being bad doesnt always have to have bad results. Thats the larger message behind the thought-provoking childrens book The Flying Rock the story of a young boy Billy and how he learns about taking responsibility for his actions. Recommended as a read-aloud or for precocious early readers. (Ages 4-9) Full color illustrations.When a group of children are mean to Billy he gets angry throws a rock and it hits Timmy on the head. Afraid Billy runs home and tells his grandfather who tells him a folk tale about a farmers son while they wait to discover if Timmys bump on the head will be all right. Timmys father calls to tell them that when the doctors examined Timmy they discovered a brain tumor that may have paralyzed or even killed him. They operated immediately and Timmys life was saved. Sometimes we might not know if an actions result is good or bad at the time. That is different from an action you know is right or wrong Billys grandfather says. He insists on an apology to Timmy and Billy agrees. The next day Billy now a hero is invited by the other children to play.Accompanying Rushs text are Ruth Whitings unique illustrations literally one-of-a-kind because Whiting uses ink fingerprints to create them building up color to create density and a contemporary feel. For the tale-within-a-tale she switches mediums utilizing bright watercolors as well as ink illustration to capture a pastoral setting evoking a more distant time.