Do love reading myths, legends and folk tales?
Have you ever wondered how those tales came to be?
The secret of Black Rock by Joe Todd-Stanton is an adventurous folktale in which a young girl named Erin is on a mission to find out more about Black Rock.
With determination, every day she attempts to stow away on her mother’s fishing boat, always getting sniffed out by her dog until the day she outsmarts him and sails off hidden aboard.
As the boat sails on, a fog descends and through that Black Rock emerges. Erin, too busy staring at the towering rock doesn’t hold on tight enough and a wave knocks her overboard.
She sinks deeper and deeper but she soon discovers that the Black Rock is in fact a living thing – and it saves her life.
Erin then realises how alive with life Black Rock is and is determined to save it from being destroyed by the fishing village.
Will Erin succeed in teaching the adults how important this rock is to their ocean? And how much they need this if they are to continue to fish for food and income?
The illustrations are filled with colour and the detail in each page will encourage you to look deeper into each picture. The full page spreads enlighten and the circular images – give the reader different viewpoints on what is going on.
The Secret of Black Rock is a tale which will make you think about those inanimate objects that you might think do nothing. Take the time to have a closer look and see what life, no matter how small, lives there and how it plays a role in the world around it.
So what else can you do with this book?
Sustainability
- Explore life underwater. Take the time to note which animals are drawn into this story. Can you name them all? Which ones would you like to learn more about?
- Explore creatures that live on or around rocks in the ocean. Why do they all live here? Where else might these living things live?
- Have there been any incidences where rocks have been removed from the ocean and therefore affected the life that lives around or on it?
- How can we help others to become aware of smaller ocean plants and animals and the important role they play?
Literacy
- How does the design of this book – and the title – capture your attention. (Look at the titles, layout of the front and back cover and the inside cover pages. )
- Compare this story to graphic novels. How does this reflect the style of a graphic novel and how would this story be told differently if it were just a story?
- There are many adjectives in this story – find as many as you can.
- What is a folktale? Myth? Explore and share some.
