View source for This is My Rock by David Lucas

{{infobox2
|title=This is My Rock
|author=David Lucas
|reviewer=Ruth Ng
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Gorgeous illustrations, and a sweet tale about sharing.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=32
|publisher=Flying Eye Books
|date=March 2015
|isbn=9781909263505
|website=http://davidlucas.org.uk/
|aznuk=1909263508
|aznus=1909263508
|cover=1909263508
}}
 
Once you have claimed something as your own, the temptation to not share it is enormous, whether you’re three years old or thirty three!  In this story we are introduced to a little goat who has climbed to the top of a mountain, claimed it as his own, and is unwilling to allow anyone else up there with him.

Whilst hanging around at the top of the mountain, a succession of other animals come along to see if they might be able to join in the fun.  ''This is my rock!'' little goat declares to the other goats, and to the eagle and bear and wolves.  Actually, in the case of the wolves that’s possibly a smart move since one of them can be seen to be licking his lips, so he probably wasn’t intending to play nicely with poor goat!  After he’s got rid of everyone he has a little play by himself, yodelling and dancing on top of the mountain.  Soon, however, he is hungry, and then he is cold, and he finds that having the mountain to himself is perhaps not all he’d hoped it would be.  I really like the ending, because we see goat trot back down to find his goat friends, and he gets them to follow him back up, declaring it to be ''our rock'', yet when they reach the top, someone else is there, claiming it to be their rock!

The style of the artwork is what makes this book stand out for me, with wonderful patterns and colours and shapes.  I like the sweet goats, and the very enormous bear, and the tiny little singing bird!  The colours are attractive, warm and bright, and the pictures are fun, adding to the charm of the story.  The story itself is told through small speech bubbles, and each page has only a few words.  It’s simple to follow, with the basic concepts of mine and not yours being repeated throughout.  I liked having the space to express myself in a grumpy goat voice, and also the opportunity that stories with few words give you to just sit and chat about what’s going on with your child.

It’s a lovely book, with a real feeling of movement and joy through it, and I like that at the end there is a sweet drawing with space to write your name (well, your child’s name!) underneath the sign ''This is actually my book''!  Fun stories about sharing are always nice to read with young children, as any new way to instill the message is a good thing!  This is enjoyable to read as a grown up too, so definitely worth a look.

For more sharing fun, try [[Share! by Anthea Simmons and Georgie Birkett]].  We also have a review of Lucas's [[Something To Do by David Lucas|Something To Do]].

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