Rocks in His Head (Avenues)

by Carol Otis Hurst

Other authorsJames Stevenson (Illustrator)

Hardcover, 2001

Status

Available

Call number

GEOL

Publication

Greenwillow Books (2001), Edition: 1st, 32 pages

Description

A young man has a lifelong love of rock collecting that eventually leads him to work at a science museum.

Media reviews

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Deborah Stevenson (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, December 2001 (Vol. 55, No. 4)) Hurst writes gently and affectionately of her father’s unusual career. Owner of a pre-Depression gas station, he really preferred to collect rocks and talk to his customers about them. When the

Depression took its toll and he lost his station, he turned an avocation of museum-going (to see the mineralogy exhibits) into a janitor’s job at the museum; his mineralogical expertise finally triumphed over the museum board’s requirements, and he was appointed curator of mineralogy. There’s a retrospective and adult slant here that will distance this from some young readers, but this is a quiet and personal evocation of one man’s self-acquired education and enduring passion (“Take a look at this one,” he’s always saying as he pulls another specimen out of his pocket). Stevenson’s scratchy, flyaway lines have a front-porch informality suited to their unpretentious subject; the colors are sometimes a bit overly subdued, but they’ve got a low-key and pleasing period flavor. “Do what you love” is a rather abstract message, but this concrete demonstration of the philosophy and its rewards may open some youthful eyes. (Reviewed from galleys) Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2001, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2001, Greenwillow, 32p, $15.95 and $15.89. Grades 3-5.

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— 1 more

Children's Literature

Karen Leggett (Children's Literature) Anyone with rocks in his head must be crazy, right? Look a bit more closely, though, and there may be something very special about those rocks--and the person with rocks in his head. The father in this story has collected rocks since he was a young boy. When he

grew up he wanted to do something with rocks, even though he was told "there's no money in rocks." He ended up opening a gas station, pumping gas, changing tires and fixing Model Ts...still collecting rocks and always ready to pull the newest find out of pocket. When the depression forced him to close his filling station and rain kept him from looking for another job, he went to the science museum "looking for rocks that are better than mine." He was hired as a janitor but he spent so much time scrubbing the rocks in the mineral cases that the director put him in charge of the rocks, even though the board of directors usually didn't hire people without college degrees. "I told them I need somebody with rocks in his head and rocks in his pockets. Are you it?" asked the director. "Maybe I am," said the father. This gentle story of persistence and curiosity is illustrated in softly colored, cartoon-style sketches. 2001, Greenwillow Books, $15.95 and $15.89. Ages 5 up.

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User reviews

LibraryThing member mwittkids

True story of a family man who has an obsession with collecting rocks and makes it his life's work.

11 more

LibraryThing member conuly

This is a true story of the author's father, whose passion for rocks (even when other people teased him gently about it) eventually led him to become director of a museum and, in her own words, "probably the happiest man I ever knew".

I love this one beyond belief. It's very sweet and nostalgic.

Don't let it pass you by.

I will say that it's probably better suited for the older end of the 4-8 range. It's a bit wordy, and some of the details about their lives - much of the book takes place during the Depression - are going to go right over the heads of the younger ones.

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LibraryThing member tshrum06

This is...I can't decide. Technically, I think it is a biography because it is about the author's father, but when I was reading it, there was no indication of his name or that he was even a real person. I had to read the summary to figure out it was the author's actual father in the story. So I

think I would classify this as historical fiction and a good example of historical fiction. It focuses on someone who is not a public figure, but talks about how the events happening in those years (invention of the Model T, The Depression, etc.) effected the father and his family.
The theme of this story is definitely "do what you love." Throughout the story you see people laughing at or ignoring the father's love and knowledge for rocks. But he kept looking for them and thinking about them and was able to get a job in a museum working with rocks. Sometimes people asked about rocks and he could tell them stories, but a lot of times people just thought he was strange. So the author, I think, highlights the importance of standing by what you love to do and pursuing it, no matter what other people think.
Age Appropriateness: Primary, Intermediate
Media: Watercolor and ink

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LibraryThing member kalonzo

The biography “Rocks in his Head” is a story about the author’s father who collected rocks. He was so involved with rock collecting that people began saying he had rocks in his head. He owned a gas station and placed his rocks on display for the whole town to see. The depression hit and

forced him and his family to move to a house that was similar to a shack. He was then hired at the Science Museum as a janitor then promoted as “Curator of Mineralogy” because of his knowledge of rocks.

In this story you can see how hard the times were during the great depression. It is interesting to see that this business owner lost his business and soon began to do what he loved most. I think this story is neat because it starts out sad but in reality has a great ending.

In a classroom I would have the students make a rock collection and look them up to identify them. They can give a presentation to the class , or I would put in them groups and let them discuss what they found with their friends.

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LibraryThing member MelAKnee

Not everyone is meant to own a gas station, but sometimes those with rocks in their head just do. From a young age, Mr. Otis loved rocks. Every where he went he was in search of the best rocks. He built shelves for them in his home and his gas station to proudly display his treasures. After the

Great Depression, Mr. Otis had to sell his gas station and look for work. He spent some of his time admiring the rocks at the science museum. While there, a curator of the museum inquired about his fancy for the rocks on display. He explained to her that he has always had rocks in his head. She offered him a position as a janitor in the museum and he was delighted to be able to spend more time with the rocks at the museum. After a while, despite his lack of a college degree, the curator offered him a job as her assistant. Sometimes it doesn't hurt to have what you love occupy your head. Even if it's rocks!

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LibraryThing member jmilton11

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Media: Watercolor and black pen
Age: Primary, intermediate
Review: A man collecting rocks throughout his lifetime and then losing his job because of the Depression is very plausible. A lot of people lost their job during this time. The characters in the book are not real

people also.

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LibraryThing member CLDoyle

Appropriate grade level for this book would be 2nd to 6th. This book hasn't received any awards. This book his about Carol Otis Hurst's father who collected rocks as a hobby. Nobody ever thought this hobby would amount to anything useful. Year after year, he kept collecting, trading, displaying and

labeling all of his rocks. During the depression, his family was forced to sell their gas station and their home, but his interest in rocks never subsided. In the end, the science museum he had visited so often realized that a person with rocks in his head was just what was needed. Uses in the classroom for this book would be to have the students write about what they like to collect or what their favorite hobby is. I would also have them bring in one of their favorite things or something they collect and create a classroom book out of all of the pages.

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LibraryThing member christiq

This book follows Carol Otis Hurst's father as he continues his hobby of collecting rocks even after he had to sell his house and gas station. This book is good for encouraging students to follow their interests. In the end, Hurts's father was able to share his collection with a museum.

LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26

Children's author Carol Otis Hurst turns to the life story of her own father in this delightful picture-book biography, chronicling his life-long love of rocks, and how this obsession eventually led to his dream job, despite the nay-saying of all those who claimed that there "wasn't any money" in

it. A collector since childhood, Hurst's father always had time to work on his rocks - polishing them, building display shelves for them, trading them for new specimens - even while running a filling station, or, during the Great Depression, looking for work. When the curator of mineralogy noticed him haunting the rock room at the local science museum, she struck up a conversation, and, learning of his passion and knowledge, offered him a job. It was only a position as a night janitor, but soon, despite his lack of a college degree, better things were to follow...

An inspirational reminder that, sometimes, with both luck and dedication, one's private passions can be transformed into a career, Rocks In His Head was an absolute joy to read. The historical setting - the booming car business of the 1920s, the hardships and mass unemployment of the 1930s - are worked seamlessly into the narrative, which focuses on Hurst's easy-going father, and his utter absorption in his area of interest. The artwork by James Stevenson, done in watercolor and black pen, is immensely expressive, and accentuates the humor of the story. My only complaint is that there is no informative afterword to give further details, as there so often is with books like this. We learn from the author's dust-jacket blurb that her father eventually did earn a college degree - after obtaining a job as curator - but facts like these might have been better presented in a brief "what happened next" addendum. Leaving that aside, this is just a wonderful book, and a moving tribute from an author daughter to her rock-hound father.

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LibraryThing member mariah21

A story about a man who was obsessed with rocks. Knew everything about them and one day all the knowledge came in handy for a museum.

LibraryThing member SRThompson

A dad is so in love with rocks, and collecting rocks, that he finds himself a job as a janitor at a museum. The woman who hired him is so impressed with his willingness to learn about rocks that she asks the museum to send him to college. I found this book very refreshing because it embraces the

power of knowledge.

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LibraryThing member Annalisebradshaw

This story took its audience through the Great Depression with a financially struggling family. The story follows the father and his life long dream to work with rocks. Although, that works for awhile, eventually the stock market crashed and the father could not work with rocks anymore. Determined

to find a job to provide for his family and still hold onto his dream, he finally finds a job as a janitor in the Museum of Rocks. He is later offered a real job as a mineralogist.

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