Synopses & Reviews
Some people collect stamps. Other people collect coins. Carol Otis Hurst's father collected rocks. Nobody ever thought his obsession would amount to anything. They said, "You've got rocks in your head" and "There's no money in rocks." But year after year he kept on collecting, trading, displaying, and labeling his rocks. The Depression forced the family to sell their gas station and their house, but his interest in rocks never wavered. And 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.
Anyone who has ever felt a little out of step with the world will identify with this true story of a man who followed his heart and his passion.
About the Author
Carol Otis Hurst says, "Rocks and minerals weren't my father's only fascination. He loved and respected all kinds of learning. There wasn't room in the book to tell you that Mrs. Johnson sent him to college while he was curator of mineralogy. Younger students at the college called him 'Grandpa,' but some other people did, too, by then. When Mrs. Johnson retired, my father became the director of the entire Springfield Science Museum. He was probably the happiest man I ever knew."
Carol Otis Hurst lives in Westfield, Massachusetts, not far from the museum. She tells stories, writes, and conducts workshops with kids, teachers, and librarians on reading and children's books. Her passion for children's literature is almost as great as her father's was for rocks. You might say she's got "books in her head."