“Answer Rock” is a 48-page, self ended picture book dummy. It is a 11 × 8.5 inch book that is aimed towards later elementary school children, or earlier elementary school children with an adult. Answer Rock has a word count of a little over 1600 words, which is longer than a typical picture book. Given the longer word count, the book will be less accessible to younger audiences. However, my intention with “Answer Rock” was to create a book that a child and their guardian could read together, as well as a book that slightly older children could revisit on their own.

“Answer Rock” is a story of a little girl named Bug who goes to visit her grandmother in a small town. This town is built around a large rock and living on that rock is a ridiculous man that the townspeople blindly trust to answer all of their questions. The town is so dependent on this man that they cannot make a single decision without his help. However, when a big storm hits the small town, the man and his rock float away forever. All hope falls to Bug to give guidance to the town.

“Answer Rock” explores a child’s experience when discovering that the adults in her life do not hold the answers to everything. In the town’s enthusiastic reliance on this untrustworthy man, Bug soon realizes that adults can be wrong too. Through this experience, she learns to find a balance between relying on her own judgment and the advice given to her by adults.

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