SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: All the Books
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: www.roccoart.com
CITY: Brooklyn
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 369
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born July 9, 1967, in RI; married Aileen Leijten (an author and illustrator; divorced), married Hayley Rocco; children: Alaya Marzipan.
EDUCATION:Attended Rhode Island School of Design; graduated from School of Visual Arts (New York, NY).
ADDRESS
CAREER
Illustrator and author. Dreamworks, pre-production art director; Epcot, Orlando, FL, attraction designer and DisneyQuest art director; ImagineAsia, Manila, Philippines, animation director. Has also worked as an art director for film and television, and museums, including Newseum and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame; freelance illustrator, 2004—. Founder of artist/illustrator consortium The Bookmakers Dozen; cofounder of Children’s Book Creators for Conservation. Exhibitions: Work included in Original Art Show, Society of Illustrators—New York; solo show at Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, FL, 2012; and at galleries including Books of Wonder, New York, NY, 2010.
MEMBER:Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
AWARDS:Borders Original Voices Award for Best Picture Book of the Year, 2007, National Parenting Publication Gold Award and Storytelling World Resource Award, both 2008, and Society of Illustrators—Los Angeles Silver Medal, all for Wolf! Wolf!; One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing selection, New York Public Library, and Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award, both 2009, both for Fu Finds the Way; Best Book Award, National Cartoonist Society, 2011, Best Book selection, New York Times, Best Book selection, Wall Street Journal, and Caldecott Honor Book selection and Notable Book selection, both American Library Association, all 2012, and Cybils Award finalist and Best Book selection, Association of Booksellers, all for Blackout; (with Jay Primiano) New England Book Award finalist, 2014, for Swim That Rock; Best Book selection, Bank Street College of Education, and Irma Black Award finalist, both 2015, both for Blizzard; National Book Award for Young People’s Literature longlist, Sibert Honor, YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Finalist, Mathical Book Prize, Golden Kite Finalist, all 2020, all for How We Got to the Moon.
WRITINGS
Author’s work has been translated into nine languages; author of a blog.
Blizzard was adapted as a live-action feature film by Fox.
SIDELIGHTS
John Rocco is the author and illustrator of numerous books for young readers, including Blackout, which was named a Caldecott Honor Book. Rocco has several other award-winning self-illustrated stories to his credit, and his paintings have been used as cover art for numerous children’s books, including Rick Riordan’s popular “Percy Jackson” series. “I guess the best way I can put it is I tell stories, whether it’s with picture or words; whether it’s working as an art director or making books,” he remarked in a Publishing Perspectives interview with Dennis Abrams.
Rocco worked for many years as an art director in the entertainment industry. He served as the pre-production art director at Dreamworks, where he worked on the animated film Shrek. He also designed attractions at Disney’s Epcot and worked as an art director for the virtual reality theme park DisneyQuest. Overseas, Rocco has worked as the animation director at the Philippines’s ImagineAsia, where he oversaw production of computer-generated animation, story development, and motion capture for various projects.
Rocco completed his first picture-book project, Whoopie Goldberg’s Alice, while he was employed as a bartender, and his images were praised for their surreal depiction of the tale’s contemporary urban setting. Despite this success, he left the publishing realm for more than a decade to work as an art director on films such as Shrek as well as on projects for television, museums, and theme parks. In 2004, Rocco decided to re-focus on book illustration, inspired in part by his wife, illustrator Aileen Leijten, as well as by the birth of their daughter.
In his self-illustrated picture book Wolf! Wolf!, Rocco presents what School Library Journal contributor Genevieve Gallagher dubbed a “twisted treatment of Aesop’s fable” about the boy who cried “Wolf!” Featuring a nostalgic setting that evokes a China of centuries ago, the story introduces a dapper but elderly wolf with a hearing problem. When the well-dressed creature hears a boy cry “Wolf, wolf!,” he mistakenly thinks he is being summoned for lunch. He therefore feels tricked by the youngster when a group of angry villagers arrive and tag him as a menace. Praising Rocco’s unique take on a traditional tale, Gallagher cited his “purposeful use of frames, unusual setting, and visual humor,” while a Kirkus Reviews critic described Wolf! Wolf! as “good-humored fun all around.”
In the fantasy adventure Moonpowder, an inventive youngster named Eli ventures into space to repair the machinery that creates the magical substance necessary for sweet dreams. Booklist critic Ilene Cooper remarked of the self-illustrated story here that “Eli’s foray to the factory in his hello-rocket-copter provides ample opportunity for Rocco’s fabulous artwork.”
Fu Finds the Way, another of Rocco’s self-illustrated tales, examines character traits such as courage, discipline, and commitment. Fu, an impatient Chinese farm boy, accidentally provokes a great soldier named Chang who challenges the youngster to a duel. With only one night to prepare, Fu seeks help from the Master, a wise mentor who teaches the child an elaborate tea ceremony in lieu of combat skills. When Fu meets Chang the next day, armed with only a tea set, the warrior reacts in a most surprising manner. “Rocco’s story flows smoothly and his illustrations are rich and appealing,” a writer in Kirkus Reviews noted. A contributor to Publishers Weekly stated that Rocco “has a wealth of ways to convey information visually in this off-beat tale.”
A celebration of community, Blackout concerns an impromptu block party thrown by a group of city dwellers after the power goes out one hot summer night. Rocco’s story chronicles the activities of one family, whose members find that the darkness offers a respite from their busy lives. “The plot line, conveyed with just a few sentences, is simple enough, but the dramatic illustrations illuminate the story,” observed a Kirkus Reviews critic, and in Booklist, Ian Chipman noted that the “lustrous, animation-quality artwork somehow manages to get richer the darker it gets.” Rick Moody, writing in the New York Times Book Review, applauded “the beautiful and nearly monochromatic tonalities of Rocco’s nighttime illustrations” for Blackout, writing that “rarely has a children’s book featured so much unalloyed navy and black.”
In Rocco’s self-illustrated Blizzard, he shares his memories of a blizzard that hit his Rhode Island hometown during the winter of 1978. With school canceled, the book’s young hero is excited to jump into his snow boots and spend the day playing outside, but soon the snow is so deep that it is impossible to walk. After a few days, with worries about supplies voiced by his parents, the boy devises a novel solution to the snow-covered sidewalks. Inspired by his reading about Arctic survival, he ties tennis rackets to his boots and uses these jury-rigged snowshoes to walk to the grocery store. Mixing an upbeat story and “stellar” art, Blizzard shares “the message that even kids can be heroes in a time of a crisis,” noted Peter Blenski in School Library Journal. A Kirkus Reviews critic predicted of the winter-themed picture book that “young readers will be tickled by a young boy’s resourcefulness,” and in Horn Book, Robin L. Smith wrote that “little details” in Rocco’s artwork “amusingly extend the story.” Imbued with a “nostalgic air of Americana,” Blizzard captures a boy’s “eagerness to be a hero,” noted a Publishers Weekly contributor, “and his display of Yankee ingenuity offers plenty of satisfaction.”
Suggesting that his story is based on personal experience, Rocco adopts as his hero in Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom a young lad named Rocco, who has been blessed with a particularly lush head of curly hair. With this amazing head-topper, the boy decides, must come amazing abilities, and in high-energy illustrations he is shown testing the limits of bike riding, ball throwing, and swinging while hanging topsy turvy, all while costumed in an appropriate super-hero cape. With what a Publishers Weekly critic characterized as a “light, humorous touch,” Rocco emphasizes the story’s comic-book inspiration by using grey-toned “halftone dots” to depict the real world and full-colored art to capture the world of the child’s imagination, and Daniel Kraus wrote in Booklist that he “does not let a single illustration go by without an emotional undercurrent.” Citing the “Sampson complex” of the upbeat narrator in Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom, a Kirkus Reviews critic recommended Rocco’s story as a “go-with-the-flow bit of imaginative silliness.”
Rocco shares his perspective with young readers in the process leading up to the moon landing in How We Got to the Moon: The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science behind Humanity’s Greatest Adventure. He begins by setting the context of the space race before looking at how the rocket looked and the problems scientists had with building it so that it could successfully make it into lunar orbit. The excitement of the launch day is illustrated as well as the entire moon landing and return of the spacecraft. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews called it “a soaring tribute.” Booklist contributor Angela Leeper similarly referred to it as “a triumphant undertaking that places readers in the historic moment.”
[OPEN NEW]
Hurricane is a picture book that explores some of the same themes as Blackout and Blizzard. In this story, a hurricane threatens a young boy’s favorite place: the dock in his neighborhood. There, he enjoys swimming, fishing, or just watching the wildlife. As the storm approaches, Rocco’s watercolor illustrations reveal how the community is preparing for the wind and rain that are coming. Although the dock is destroyed by the hurricane, the boy and his neighbors band together to rebuild it, and it becomes even more a place where the community can gather.
In Horn Book Magazine, Betty Carter praised Rocco’s artwork as both “dramatic” and “naturalistic.” She also noted that the book includes a description of how hurricanes form and how docks are constructed. A writer in Kirkus Reviews called the book “informative and emotionally gratifying.” They appreciated how the “excellent, realistic illustrations . . . enhance the already accessible, satisfying reading experience.” They predicted that the story “will evoke readers’ empathy.”
[CLOSE NEW]
In addition to his solo efforts, Rocco has illustrated a number of works by other authors, including Kathleen V. Kudlinski, Rick Riordan, Tom Angleberger, Jason Carter Eaton, and Todd Tarpley. Originally published in 1910 and retold by Katherine and John Paterson, The Flint Heart centers on a magical amulet that changes the life of a kindly farmer and his children. Viewed as a feature of this new edition, “Rocco’s periodic full-color paintings embellish the goings-on with a steampunk sheen and art-nouveau flourish,” wrote Thom Barthelmess in his review of the newly illustrated work for Booklist. In creating the “intricately detailed, digitally colored graphite” artwork for Eaton’s How to Train a Train, Rocco plays with perspectives and contrast, noted a Publishers Weekly contributor, and a Kirkus Reviews critic described the artwork as “a successful blend of striking, painterly spreads … and humorous cameos.” Appraising Tarpley’s Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep! in School Library Journal, Marianne Saccardi noted that Rocco’s multimedia images “greatly extend the text” in this “delightful tale of bedtime role-reversal.”
With Swim That Rock, Rocco added a new aspect to his career, teaming up with friend and coauthor Jay Primiano to share a story grounded in their shared coastal New England roots. Set in on Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay, the story focuses on Jake Cole, a fourteen-year-old haunted by his fisherman father’s disappearance at sea a year ago. His mother has been struggling to pay the bills and worries that they may be forced to move to her mother’s house in Arizona. Hoping to remain in their home, Jake signs on with a boat going “quahogging”—fishing for hardshell clams called quahogs—during the day and at night teams up with a local fisherman to fish for clams in a section of shoreline that is now off limits. Reviewing Swim That Rock, a Kirkus Reviews writer noted that Rocco and Primiano’s novel comes to life in “distinct, clearly realized setting details,” and School Library Journal critic Liz Overberg dubbed it a “feel-good story [that] illustrates the value of hard work and determination.” As John Peters wrote in a Booklist appraisal of the collaborative novel, the “autobiographical elements” in Swim That Rock “lend the tale’s cast and setting a salty authenticity.”
How to Track a Truck presents itself as a how-to book for treating a truck as one’s pet. Young readers are given a range of advice in choosing the truck that is most suitable for them before they can play with it and give it a name. The account introduces all types of trucks, from moving vans and dump trucks to snowplows and ice-cream trucks, helping readers to identify what kinds of trucks exist. Reviewing the book in School Library Journal, Amy Shepherd called it “a lovely storytime read-aloud,” adding that “children will be lining up to check this out.”
In Big Machines: The Story of Virginia Lee Burton, Rocco illustrates Sherri Duskey Rinker’s tribute to the creativity of Virginia Lee Burton. Burton would frequently tell her children stories about big machines. Rinker and Rocco add to Burton’s range of big machines by introducing a steam shovel, a coal engine, a cable car, and a snowplow while imaging what Burton’s children’s reactions to these would be. Writing in School Library Journal, Jennifer Costa found Big Machines to be “a lovely tribute, both to a marvelous creator of books for children as well as the creative process itself.” A contributor to Kirkus Reviews observed that it is “alive” and “bursting with color and action.”
In Noah Builds an Ark, young Noah builds an ark for the animals that live in his backyard when heavy rains last for days. While he and his family stay dry in their house, the miscellaneous animals take refuge in the ark. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews stated: “Bringing the beauty of and responsibility for nature to the city, this will win over readers.”
In Susan Choi’s Camp Tiger, a family on a camping trip welcomes an unexpected visitor to join them when a tiger asks if he can sleep in the extra tent they have to keep warm overnight. The tiger bonds with the son, and the pair enjoy a fun weekend together as they go fishing and relax in a canoe. The tiger helps the boy to become comfortable in his first camping experience. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews described it as being “a multilayered coming-of-age story filled with exquisitely executed art.” Writing in School Library Journal, Marianne Saccardi claimed that “this beautiful paring of text and illustrations is an excellent choice for group sharing and can spark discussion about ways to cope with new situations.”
[OPEN NEW]
In recent years, Rocco has focused on illustrating books written by his wife Hayley Rocco. This has included the “Meet the Wild Things” series. Each of these picture books focuses on a particular, often unusual animal. Examples include Hello, I’m a Sloth and Hello, I’m a Quokka. The couple also published a picture book on the life of naturalist David Attenborough entitled Wild Places: The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough.
All the Books is another collaboration between the Roccos. In this case, an enthusiastic chipmunk named Piper is in love with books, but she refuses to share them with the animals around her. That changes, however, when a librarian promises to give Piper a library card as long as Piper starts sharing her books with others. “A loving ode to libraries,” wrote a contributor in Kirkus Reviews. The reviewer particularly enjoyed the “deep warm tones” of John’s illustrations and how they “wrap the space in comfort and coziness” with a “sweetly old-fashioned air.”
[CLOSE NEW]
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, December 1, 2008, Ian Chipman, review of Boy, Were We Wrong about the Solar System!, p. 67; June 1, 2011, Ian Chipman, review of Blackout, p. 90; September 1, 2011, Thom Barthelmess, review of The Flint Heart, p. 119; October 15, 2011, Melissa Moore, review of Return to Exile, p. 60; May 1, 2013, Daniel Kraus, review of Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom, p. 94; April 1, 2014, John Peters, review of Swim That Rock, p. 87; August 1, 2015, Sarah Hunter, review of Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!, p. 70; October 1, 2015, Carolyn Phelan, review of Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes, p. 79; June 1, 2024, Carolyn Phelan, review of Hello, I’m a Quokka, p. 62.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, April 1, 2007, Deborah Stevenson, review of Wolf! Wolf!, p. 343; October 1, 2013, review of How to Train a Train, p. 85; June 1, 2014, Elizabeth Bush, review of Swim That Rock, p. 539; December 1, 2014, Deborah Stevenson, review of Blizzard, p. 191.
Horn Book, September 1, 2011, Betty Carter, review of The Flint Heart, p. 94; March 1, 2014, Dean Schneider, review of Swim That Rock, p. 127; November 1, 2014, Robin L. Smith, review of Blizzard, p. 77; September 23, 2020, Roger Sutton, author interview; September-October, 2021, Betty Carter, review of Hurricane, p. 82.
Horn Book Guide, March 22, 2014, Pam Yosca, review of How to Train a Train, p. 28; March 22, 2016, Patrick Gall, review of Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!, p. 17; March 22, 2017, Sheila M. Geraty, review of How to Track a Truck, p. 30.
Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2007, review of Wolf! Wolf!; October 1, 2008, review of Boy, Were We Wrong about the Solar System!; August 15, 2009, review of Fu Finds the Way, April 15, 2011, review of Blackout; April 1, 2013, review of Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom; July 15, 2013, review of How to Train a Train; February 15, 2014, review of Swim That Rock; July 15, 2014, review of Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes; September 1, 2014, review of Blizzard; July 1, 2015, review of Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!; July 1, 2017, review of Big Machines: The Story of Virginia Lee Burton; January 15, 2019, review of Noah Builds an Ark; March 1, 2019, review of Camp Tiger; August 15, 2020, review of How We Got to the Moon: The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science behind Humanity’s Greatest Adventure; August 1, 2021, review of Hurricane; October 1, 2022, review of How to Send a Hug; December 1, 2023, review of Wild Places: The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough; August 1, 2024, review of All the Books; October 1, 2024, review of Hello, I’m a Pangolin; October 1, 2024, review of Hello, I’m a Sloth.
New York Times Book Review, June 5, 2011, Rick Moody, review of Blackout, p. 26; September 18, 2011, Jerry Griswold, review of The Flint Heart, p. 21.
Publishers Weekly, February 19, 2007, review of Wolf! Wolf!, p. 168; September 7, 2009, review of Fu Finds the Way, p. 43; March 7, 2011, review of Blackout, p. 63; March 25, 2013, review of Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom, p. 69; September 1, 2014, review of Blizzard, p. 67; spring, 2014, review of How to Train a Train, p. 46; July 6, 2015, review of Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!, p. 68.
School Library Journal, February 1, 2007, Genevieve Gallagher, review of Wolf! Wolf!, p. 94; October 1, 2009, Barbara Scotto, review of Fu Finds the Way, p. 103; July 1, 2011, Lauralyn Persson, review of Blackout, p. 77; August 1, 2011, Alana Joli Abbott, review of The Flint Heart, p. 82; December 1, 2011, Mara Alpert, review of Return to Exile, p. 127; October 1, 2014, Peter Blenski, review of Blizzard, p. 94; September 1, 2015, Marianne Saccardi, review of Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!, p. 129; October 1, 2016, Amy Shepherd, review of How to Track a Truck, p. 74; October 1, 2017, Jennifer Costa, review of Big Machines, p. 126; February 1, 2019, Margaret Kennelly, review of Noah Builds an Ark, p. 47; May 1, 2019, Marianne Saccardi, review of Camp Tiger, p. 82; September 1, 2020, Angela Leeper, review of How We Got to the Moon, p. 92.
ONLINE
Bookmakers Dozen website, http://bookmakersdozen.blogspot.com (August 1, 2017), author profile.
BookPage, https://bookpage.com/ (September 1, 2017), Julie Danielson, author interview.
GeoLibrarian, https://geolibrarian.blogspot.com/ (November 13, 2024), author interview.
John Rocco website, http://www.roccoart.com (February 20, 2025).
Keystone, https://thewittliffkeystone.wp.txstate.edu/ (January 31, 2024), author interview.
National Book Foundation website, https://www.nationalbook.org/ (January 17, 2021), author profile.
Pine Reads Review, https://www.pinereadsreview.com/ (November 17, 2017), author interview.
Publishing Perspectives, http://publishingperspectives.com/ (May 16, 2012), Dennis Abrams, “John Rocco: ‘Committed to Telling Stories.’”
School Library Journal, https://afuse8production.slj.com/ (August 23, 2023), Betsy Bird, author interview.
Seven Impossible Things before Breakfast, http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/ (May 31, 2011), author interview.
Wild Tomorrow, https://wildtomorrow.org/ (February 20, 2025), “Meet the Roccos, Our Newest Ambassadors.”
John Rocco is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of many acclaimed books for children, including Blackout, recipient of the Caldecott Honor and How We Got To The Moon, recipient of the Sibert Honor and Longlisted for the National Book Award. Rocco has illustrated the covers for Rick Riordan's internationally bestselling series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, and The Trials of Apollo. He also created the illustrations for the #1 New York Times bestsellers Percy Jackson's Greek Gods and Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes.
For many years Rocco has been an art director in the entertainment industry, both in the US and abroad. At Dreamworks, Rocco was the pre-production art director on the top-grossing animated film Shrek. For Walt Disney Imagineering, he designed attractions at Disney's Epcot and served as art director for DisneyQuest, a virtual reality theme park in Downtown Disney. Rocco has worked with computer graphics pioneer Robert Abel, the creator of some of the first CGI commercials and special effects, and contributed to several museum projects including Newseum in Washington D.C. and Paul Allen's Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame.
Philanthropy...
Rocco, along with his wife, Hayley Rocco, have co-founded Children's Book Creators for Conservation (CBCC)- a collective of children's book authors and illustrators who support conservation efforts with the mission to partner with conservation organizations like Wild Tomorrow. Recently, John and Hayley were made official ambassadors for Wild Tomorrow. Click here to read about it.
Awards, accolades and other things...
How We Got To The Moon
-2020 National Book Award Longlist
-2021 Sibert Honor Book
-2021 YSLA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Finalist
-2021 Mathical Book Prize Winner
-SCBWI Golden Kite Finalist
-Cybils Award Middle Grade Nonfiction Finalist
-Junior Library Guild Selection
-Orbis Pictus Recommended Title
-Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of the Year
-Kirkus Best Book of the Year
-Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
-Booklist Best Book of the Year
-Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year
-Starred Reviews from Kirkus, PW, Horn Book, and Booklist
Blackout
-New York Times Bestseller
-2012 Caldecott Honor Book
-ALA Notable Book
-2011 Best Book Award National Cartoonist Society
-2012 Editors Choice Award for ChildrensBooksGuide.com
-Wisconsin Golden Archer Award
-New York Times Best Book of the Year
-Wall Street Journal Best Book of the Year
- PW Best Book of the Year
-School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
-Kirkus Best Book of the Year
-Cybils Finalist
-A Junior Library Guild Selection
-Association of Booksellers for Children (ABC) Best Book of the Year
-Indie Next List
-Starred Reviews from Kirkus, PW and School Library Journal
-Selection for the 2x2 Texas Reading association list
-Currently being adapted into a live action feature film with FOX
-Currently published in 9 languages
Blizzard
-Starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, BCCB
-Best Book of the Year Wall Street Journal
-Boston Globe Best Book of the Year
-Kirkust Best Book of the Year
-Amazon Best Book of the Year
-A Junior Library Guild Selection
-Finalist for the Irma Black Award
-Bank Street Best Book List
-Black-Eyed Susan Book Award Nominee
-Currently published in 6 languages
Wolf! Wolf!
-Borders Original Voices Award
-NAAPA Gold Award (National Parenting Publications Awards)
-Silver Award for the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles
Moonpowder
-part of the Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators
Fu Finds the Way
-Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award for Best Book
-part of the Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators
Super Hair-O and the Barber of Doom
-Selection for the 2x2 Texas Reading association list
-Currently published in 4 languages
How to Train A Train
-Selection for the 2x2 Texas Reading association list
-starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, PW, SLJ
The Flint Heart
-Starred Reviews from Kirkus, PW and School Library Journal
- part of Original Art Show at Society of Illustrators
Swim That Rock
-Rhode Island Representative Book for the National Book Festival
-Finalist for the New England Book Award
-Finalist for the Rhode Island Teen Book Award
Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods
-A #1 New York Times Bestseller
-Starred Review from Kirkus
-Kirkus Best Book of the Year
-Finalist for Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards for Best Book
-Finalist for Children’s Choice Book Awards 2015
Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes
-A #1 New York Times Bestseller
Solo exhibition of his work at the Orlando Museum of Modern Art (July-October 2012)
John Rocco spent 18 months working as animation director at ImagineAsia in Manila, Philippines. John oversaw production of cg animation, motion capture and story development for several projects.
John Rocco was the founder of The Bookmakers Dozen, a group of 13 talented children’s book illustrators, including: Sophie Blackall, Brian Floca, Peter Brown, Brett Helquist, Dan Yaccarino and others. The Bookmakers Dozen had many group shows and events with the goal of getting art and books in the hands of children. http://bookmakersdozen.blogspot.com
MEET THE ROCCOS, OUR NEWEST AMBASSADORS
Wild Tomorrow’s Ambassadors bring their incredible and undeniable passions, talents, and support to help us achieve our mission to save wildlife and wild spaces. We are so delighted to welcome the two newest additions to our team of ambassadors, Hayley and John Rocco!
Hayley and John Rocco with two of their upcoming books, Wild Places: The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough and Hello! I’m a Pangolin. Both set to be released in 2024.
Meet Hayley and John Rocco. They have an indisputable eagerness to help save wildlife and wild spaces, and they don’t stop there. They put their passion into action by creating books to share their research such as writing conservation-focused children’s books (including their upcoming book, Wild Places: The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough).
Both Hayley and John connected deeply with Wild Tomorrow’s work after a google search led Hayley to sign up for our conservation experience trip in South Africa last year. Wild Tomorrow’s mission is important to them because they, like the team at Wild Tomorrow, want to personally take urgent action to save our planet. Their creative talents help to inform people, specifically children, on the challenges wildlife and our planet are facing, the incredible work that is being done to protect threatened species, and how to fight for our collective futures.
John Rocco is a #1 NYTimes bestselling author and illustrator of many acclaimed books for children including Blackout, the recipient of a Caldecott Honor, and How We Got to the Moon, which received a Robert. F. Sibert Honor and was longlisted for the National Book Award. Prior to becoming a children’s book author, John served as a creative director in the entertainment industry for several companies including DreamWorks and Walt Disney Imagineering.
CHECK OUT JOHN ROCCO'S WORK
John’s partner in crime (and in marriage!), Hayley Rocco, is a talented children’s book author with over 15 years of experience as a children’s book publicist for several major houses. Her first collaboration with her husband, How to Send a Hug, was just the start! She has five books launching in 2024 including Wild Places: The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough; and three of the first four books in Meet the Wild Things, a new series introducing young readers to endangered animals including Hello, I’m a Pangolin, Hello, I’m a Sloth, and Hello, I’m a Quokka.
CHECK OUT HAYLEY ROCCO'S WORK
How to Send a Hug and Wild Places: The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough, written by Hayley Rocco and illustrated by John Rocco.
Together, Hayley and John have formed the Children’s Book Creators for Conservation (CBCC)— a collective group of children’s book authors and illustrators who share a love of the planet, support conservation efforts, and believe that protecting biodiversity and re-wilding our planet is essential for a better tomorrow. Their mission is to partner with conservation organizations, like Wild Tomorrow, and use their creative storytelling skills to amplify their work and make lasting connections with young readers.
As storytellers and illustrators, Hayley and John’s skills heavily impact the young minds that read their books, as well as their families. They stress that a collective effort is imperative to achieve our mission, especially for the younger generations. By advocating this through their books and personal lives, readers will be empowered to learn about what is happening on our planet and how they can help. By covering topics such as fascinating yet endangered animals, the importance of conserving wild spaces, and tips and tools for getting involved in conservation, Hayley and John are ultimately helping young people make a connection between themselves and the world around them to create a better future for all living things.
A rescued, rehabilitated and released pangolin. Photograph by Hayley Rocco.
We first met Hayley and John when Hayley was doing background research for a children’s book on pangolins (that is set to be released in the summer of 2024). In a few Google searches about pangolins, Hayley happened upon our blog post – Pioneering Pangolins, and immediately got in touch. Fast forward a mere 3 months, Hayley was together with our team on the ground in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa taking part in one of our biannual Conservation Experience Trips! And the best part? She got to see a pangolin in real life! Hayley recounts, “Seeing a pangolin and meeting with the professionals who care for them provided me with invaluable information for my research. I learned so much—so many new and developing facts about pangolins I never would have discovered in a book or online.”
Hayley’s two-week volunteer trip with Wild Tomorrow last year, which was her first time visiting Africa, left an everlasting impact on her: “Seeing these giant, magnificent creatures [elephants] living in the wild was more powerful than I could ever have imagined. So much so, it brought me to tears. I had no idea the profound impact that moment would have on me and I’ll never forget it... I never felt I knew my place in the grand scheme of things until I experienced Africa. From ringing birds for conservation research, to the dehorning of rhinos, helping out at the rhino orphanage…and then having the chance to follow along with a pangolin—an actual, real-live pangolin—was all so surreal. I’ll treasure those moments for the rest of my life.”
Hayley and John’s individual interactions with wildlife have truly impacted their lives, desires, and actions to be part of positive change for our planet. John shares that the traumatic experience of his home being burglarized back in 2015 left him feeling understandably shaken. But the following day, as he accompanied a friend to a ranch in the Santa Monica mountains, he met Stanley, an 18-foot tall, reticulated giraffe. After climbing the tower next to Stanley’s paddock, cautiously standing still as the giraffe wandered towards him, what happened next left a profound impact on John: “Suddenly he rested his massive, and powerful, head on my shoulder. I can’t explain the sense of calm that came over me. For ten minutes I stood there as he nuzzled my neck as if he knew I needed some consoling. It was an incredible experience that I will never forget.”
Although not Reticulated Giraffe, here is a family of South African Giraffe photographed by Hayley Rocco at Wild Tomorrow’s Greater Ukuwela Nature Reserve in March 2022.
Both of their stories are powerful and many of us at Wild Tomorrow can relate to the impact animals make on our lives and our determination to do what we can to help.
Hayley and John feel thrilled to join Wild Tomorrow’s team of Ambassadors to champion the work we do and to continue being an integral part of saving wildlife and its habitat, sharing their passion and drive with as many people as they can. And as the cherry on top of the cake, in 2023, CBCC will be partnering with Wild Tomorrow to embark on the first volunteer trip with 9 CBCC members with the hope of bringing back stories from the wild to share with young readers. We couldn’t be more honored to bring them on board!
Check out Hayley and John’s work:
Wild Places
How We Got to the Moon
How to Send a Hug
Blackout
Conservation and Children’s Literature: An Interview with Haley & John Rocco About the CBCC
August 23, 2023 by Betsy Bird Leave a Comment
Generally when folks ask to do something with my blog they’ll work through a publicist of some sort. That’s why I was a little surprised with author Hayley Rocco reached out to me directly. Then again, I’d heard of the group she and her husband, artist John Rocco, had created. The CBCC or “Children’s Book Creators for Conservation”. Maybe you saw a mention of them here or there too. They were all over Publisher’s Weekly for a while, but even so I only had the vaguest sense of who the group was and what they were hoping to accomplish. Fortunately, Hayley was able to spell it out for me a little. She said the group was…:
“a nonprofit focused on reconnecting and restoring threatened and endangered wildlife. In October, nine award-winning authors and illustrators are embarking on this inaugural two week volunteer trip to KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa together, to assist with a myriad of conservation efforts being made, including anything from snare patrolling with rangers to dehorning rhinos, to helping at the local orphanage and school. Our goal is to not only to bring together likeminded authors, illustrators, and industry folk to raise funding for a cause so dear to our hearts, but to see what stories will be developed while we’re there; stories we can bring home and share with readers to amplify the work these conservationists are doing to help our planet, and ultimately, ourselves.”
Oh! Okay. That made sense. But you know me. I still had questions. And as it turned out, Hayley and John had an answer or two for me:
Betsy Bird: Okay! Hayley! John! So let’s begin at the beginning. You decided to start the group Children’s Book Creators for Conservation. Tell me a bit more about this. This sounds like a major undertaking. Where did this idea start?
SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST
ADVERTISEMENT
Hayley Rocco: It really began after my first volunteer/research trip to South Africa with Wild Tomorrow, a nonprofit working to restore wildlife and wild places in KwaZulu-Natal. While I was there, I kept thinking how incredible it would be to share this experience with other children’s book creators. There are so many of us with common interests, such as the environment, animals, and the people working to save them. Why not get a group of us to experience this together?
John Rocco: When Hayley came back and shared this idea, I was immediately on board. The first thing we did was inquire with Wild Tomorrow’s cofounders, Wendy Hapgood and John Steward. They loved the idea of organizing a unique volunteer trip catered towards children’s book creators, and so we selected some dates, and started planning. We casually reached out to a handful of friends we knew who would be excited about this opportunity, and most of them responded with an immediate “YES!” From there, the Children’s Book Creators for Conservation was born.
BB: I’m the kind of person who enjoys getting a little bogged down in logistics, so tell me a little bit about the nitty gritty of even starting a group of this kind. Who did you contact? And are other children’s book creators able to join?
JR: I think many of us working in the children’s book field are very siloed, even more so since the pandemic. Hayley and I are all about building community, and this felt like the right kind of community to build. Luckily, with the help of Wild Tomorrow, we were easily able create a conservation trip that will be the “kick-off” for the CBCC. As their volunteer trips accommodate groups of 9 or less, we sent the word out and filled this trip quickly. Right now, our focus is this upcoming trip in October and fundraising for Wild Tomorrow, and upon our return we will see how we can grow. And yes, anyone working in the children’s book industry is welcome to join our group—not just authors and illustrators, but editors, art directors, publishers, publicists … you are all welcome!
HR: At this point, we hope that the CBCC becomes a place where other creators can come together to bridge a connection between the conservationists in the field and the children’s book publishing world. We plan on coming back from this trip with incredible stories to share with young readers, as well as opportunities for engagement. The goal being to further connect with schools, libraries, and classrooms in the form of both virtual and in-person visits where we can share our experiences in the field on a deeper level.
BB: How is CBCC organized? Do you have a multi-year plan in mind? And what, most importantly, is your mission statement?
HR: Well, we’ll start with our mission: We are a collective group of children’s book creators who share a love of the planet, support conservation efforts, and believe that protecting biodiversity and re-wilding our planet is essential for a better tomorrow. Our mission is to partner with conservation organizations like Wild Tomorrow, and use our creative storytelling skills to amplify their work and make lasting connections with young readers. Our hope is to make this trip to South Africa with Wild Tomorrow an annual opportunity for not only children’s book creators, but children’s book industry professionals who are passionate about conservation, as well. We all work together through our respective siloes but imagine the different collaborations that could come out of going on an adventure with your editor into the African bush. The possibilities are endless. As of right now, we’re inviting creators and industry professionals to reach out and connect, and from there, we’ll see what direction we go.
JR: As this grows, I would like to see us organizing other trips to work with conservationists in the field. Galapagos, Borneo, and Costa Rica are just a few places that come to mind. The idea is that teachers and their classrooms can follow along with our adventure through our social media channels, and then have us do virtual or in-person school visits to share our experiences with the students. All the proceeds from these visits would then go directly to conservation efforts being made by our partners.
BB: So far you have ten or so members of CBCC. Is the hope to create books individually with conservation themes or will you be publishing together with the same publisher/imprint?
HR: We do have several other creators who are interested but they couldn’t join us for the inaugural trip. We plan to reconnect with them we return and begin planning for our next conservation adventure. As of right now, we’re all working individually, but who knows what will happen when we’re all together in the bush! There are no hard and fast rules.
JR: We did discuss the idea of doing a collective journal-type book, so fingers crossed that comes to fruition! We have some very creative and talented folks who are going to be immersed into one of the most biodiverse hotspots on planet earth. I look forward to seeing what comes out of that.
BB: As you’ve already mentioned, in October this group will be headed to South Africa for two weeks. What’s the purpose of the trip? What are you hoping to accomplish while there?
HR: The purpose of this trip is to not only give children’s book creators hands-on volunteer experience in conservation alongside the ecologists, scientists, and conservationists in the field, but to spend time in the wild together, amongst the wildlife, and come home with new and impactful stories we can share with young readers.
SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST
ADVERTISEMENT
JR: On a personal note, this trip will give me a chance to experience something that Hayley had the opportunity to be a part of last year—a rhino horn trimming. This is a preventive measure used by conservationists to prevent poaching. Hayley has since written a book about her adventure, and as the illustrator it will be invaluable to experience that myself.
BB: You already had me at “rhino horn trimming”. Wow. Well, finally, do you have any future plans for the CBCC? Any directions you’d like it to go?
HR: Our hope is to create new and inspiring opportunities for children’s book creators to collaborate, with conservation in mind, on an annual basis. Ideally, we’d like to connect the publishing world with the important organizations doing conservation work and discover new stories we can share with young readers. Maybe we’ll be able to inspire the next Jane Goodall or David Attenborough’s of the world. Wouldn’t that be something? It’s a lofty goal, but given the plight of our planet, it’s worth a shot to team up and try our best with the storytelling skills we have.
JR: One of the ongoing goals for the CBCC is to help fundraise for the important conservation work being done in the field. Right now, our partner for this upcoming trip is Wild Tomorrow, and the CBCC has a goal of raising $20K to support their efforts. 100% of the money we raise will go towards protecting wildlife, supporting caretakers, restoring wild spaces, and uplifting communities in the KwaZulu-Natal area. You can find out more at https://wildtomorrow.org/cbccdonate
Drawing Inspiration: A Q&A with artist, John Rocco
January 31, 2024 2 Comments
Calling all Percy Jackson fans and lovers of beautiful book illustration alike! The Wittliff Collections is proud to celebrate artist/illustrator, John Rocco, in a new exhibit, Illustrating the Odyssey: Book Art for Rick Riordan’s Mythic Worlds. On display are 17 original signed and numbered prints by Rocco that were published as cover art and illustrations for books by Rick Riordan.
Photo of John Rocco exhibit
John Rocco exhibit in the Laura Walser Reading Room, The Wittliff Collections.
It is no secret that the worlds built by Rick Riordan have enchanted and empowered young readers across the globe; and the accompanying artwork by John Rocco helps draw them in further. Rocco’s stunning illustrations have graced the pages and covers of many Rick Riordan’s book series including Percy Jackson and The Olympians, The Kane Chronicles, and Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. In fact, Rocco’s first book jacket illustration was for The Lightning Thief, the iconic kickoff to the Percy Jackson series.
Lightning Thief cover art
Lightning Thief cover
Through a combination of traditional pencil drawing and digital painting, Rocco brings to life Riordan’s worlds where dreamlike adventures – complete with a cadre of gods, monsters, and demons – seemingly leap from his mind’s eye onto the page. Rocco’s unique visual storytelling conveys the characters and action through a lavish use of color and tone. Light and dark glow and smolder as demigod, Percy Jackson, battles characters from Greek mythology, magician siblings Carter and Sadie Kane contend with Egyptian gods and goddesses, and Magnus Chase navigates the Norse afterlife, Valhalla.
Photo of John Rocco exhibit
Book covers illustrated by John Rocco
Recently, Archives Specialist, Sherri Turner-Herrmann, had the pleasure of chatting with John Rocco about his career path, creative process and inspiration, and how he came to collaborate with Rick Riordan.
Photo of John Rocco
The artist, John Rocco
Q: Is it true that you didn’t become serious about drawing until you were 19? If so, what changed your mind?
After high school I wanted to continue working as a commercial shell fisherman. I had been working summers and most weekends on clamming boats since I was eleven years old, and having my own boat seemed like the natural transition. My first winter out on the water was rough, and when my boat sank, I rushed off to college to study oceanographic engineering. It was then that I was sharing a house with Jay Primiano— the fishing boat captain I worked for as a kid—and his illustrator friend, Fred Lynch. Watching Fred create pictures everyday was a revelation. “Wait, you can stay at home and draw all day and this is how you make a living?”
I immediately started putting pencil to paper with gusto, and with Fred’s guidance I was able to put together a pretty decent portfolio that got me accepted into the Rhode Island School of Design.
Q: Your use of vibrant, almost electric color is reminiscent of Maxfield Parrish. Amongst the artists who were part of the Golden Age of Illustration, who are you most influenced by?
Maxfield Parrish, N.C. Wyeth, Howard Pyle, and Arthur Rackham all had a major influence on not only my early school work, but continues today. The design and color of Parrish, the powerful compositions and lighting of Wyeth and Pyle, and the motion and whimsy of Rackham all went into my toolbox right from the get go. I still go back and study their work for inspiration.
Q: How did you meet and begin to collaborate with Rick Riordan?
I had illustrated my first picture book, written by Whoopi Goldberg, right after graduating from art school. After that I worked as an art director in entertainment for about 14 years. It was in 2005 when I was trying to break back into the children’s book field that I ran into the editor for that Whoopi book, Rob Weisbach. Rob said he had an interesting project for me. They were looking for someone to create a new illustration for the cover of a book called the Lightning Thief. I had never illustrated a book jacket before and I thought this would be a fabulous challenge. It wasn’t until about the third or fourth book in the series that I actually met Rick. It was all run through the publishing company. But when Rick started working on multiple series, the publisher wanted the art before Rick had even written the book, so he and I would get on the phone and he would basically walk me through the story so I could get a sense of what might work for a cover. Once I had an idea, I would go back to Rick to get details for the particular scene. It was a great process, but also nerve-wracking because I knew that the fans would only have the cover to look at for months before the book was available. There were even websites dedicated to analyzing the cover to try and glean what might take place in the next book, so I had to make sure the details were correct. In the end I ended up creating 26 covers for five different series Rick wrote, as well as four fully illustrated volumes. All told I probably created about 250 paintings based on the stories from Rick’s imagination. It was a mythical journey!
Just in case you didn’t know, Rocco is also a Caldecott Award recipient and New York Times #1 Bestselling author and illustrator of children’s books in his own right. Hailing from Barrington, Rhode Island, John studied illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design, and is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City.
John Rocco’s book covers and illustrations are nothing short of dazzling and action packed. Should you have a moment to be transported into the worlds of Rick Riordan, come by The Wittliff Collections’ Laura Walser Reading Room and enjoy the amazing artwork of John Rocco. Illustrating the Odyssey: Book Art for Rick Riordan’s Mythic Worlds will be on display through the Spring semester, 2024.
INTERVIEW WITH HAYLEY & JOHN ROCCO including a review of Hello, I'm a Quokka
November 13, 2024
https://www.meetthewildthings.com/
Many thanks to HAYLEY & JOHN ROCCO for taking time out of their busy schedule to answer a few questions!
INTERVIEW
• Reading is….one of the greatest ways to not only expand your mind, but your perspectives
and viewpoints, as well. It’s an opportunity to see how others think and feel, which naturally
inspires empathy.
• I hope our books will ….Inspire empathy for these fascinating endangered animals in young
readers, and if we’re so lucky, maybe even motivate them to take action or pursue a career in
the conservation sector they’re excited about.
• How did your series come about?
When I was young, I loved animals so much, I wanted to be Dr. Doolittle and Dr. Jane Goodall all in one. While I was researching for Wild Places: The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough, I really became aware of just how many of our beloved creatures were on the brink of extinction. I learned that the most trafficked animal in the world was the beloved pangolin, and I realized how little I actually knew about them. I felt powerless to help as I am certainly no expert, nor a scientist or politician. While I was feeling depressed and utterly defeated, I told John, “I just don’t know how I can help.” In his ever-supportive way, hequickly responded with; “You’re a storyteller. It’s our job to share these animals’ stories with young readers. You can be the Dr. Dolittle you’ve always wanted to be.” I have a portrait beautifully illustrated of Jane Goodall by one of the greatest illustrators around and one of John’s former professors, Sal Catalano, on our bedroom wall. On that portrait is one of my favorite quotes of hers: “The least I can do is speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.” This quote inspired the Meet the Wild Things series. I hope the animals we feature and “give a voice to” would be happy with our treatment if they could read them. But who knows! With AI, that could very well be a possibility in the future.
• What's it like working on a book with your spouse?
We feel very fortunate to be able to work together as we have the unique opportunity to edit text/illustrations as we develop each story. I’ll write a manuscript. John will draft a “dummy” or sketched out version of the book. Once we start plugging the words into the dummy sometimes it becomes immediately evident what text can be cut based on how the illustrations are laid out, and vice versa. It can be a little stressful sometimes, especially when we feel strongly about something, but we feel very fortunate that we’re able to put our egos aside and come to a solution with enough patience and care for one another. The only drawback? We find that we talk about work constantly! It’s really difficult to step away from new ideas or solutions that pop up while we’re in the car on the way to the supermarket or on our way to a social event. Every time we say, “no work!” inevitably, an idea pops up and we’ll just laugh…and maybe jot a note or two in a notebook (I always carry one in my purse).
• How much and what kind of research did you have to do?
I have to say, my favorite part about working on these books, and I think John can agree, is the research aspect! It’s not only exciting to visit remote parts of the world, or even visit our local zoo, but enlightening to meet with the passionate experts who are working with the animals we’re studying. We’ve learned so much new information and findings based on the research and observations these experts are making in the field right now. So, while we always research from books and articles, we find it most helpful having experts vet the book when it’s ready...I think one of the greatest takeaways from our research has been discovering just how much there is yet to learn about most animals on our planet. How sad to think of all the animals who are quietly going extinct that we either don’t know much about, or, dare I say, don’t even know existed in the first place? That’s a connection I hope we convey to young readers. That they CAN be the next Jane Goodall for a species they care about.
HELLO, I'M A QUOKKA
by Hayley & John Rocco
G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2024
ISBN: 978-0-593-61818-9
Source: publisher for review
Ages 4-8
All opinions expressed are solely my own.
Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com.
REVIEW
As with the first two books in the "Meet the Wild Things" series, Hello, I'm a Quokka presents information about this unusual information from the point of view of the animal itself. Native to Australia, the quokka (KWAH-kuh) seems to be smiling all the time. Related to the kangaroos and wallaby, the quokka also hops to get around. Further information about where and how the quokka lives is included along with a map (I love maps!). The inclusion of questions for young readers or listeners to answer makes the book more interactive. The book also explains the dangers that quokka's face including invasive species such as foxes, loss of habitat due to human expansion and climate change, and how scientists are working to help the quokka survive. Additional information is provided in the back matter for those who want to learn more. Sources of additional information including the book series website round out the back matter. A fabulous addition to a great series about endangered animals that is great for reading aloud and could easily lead to children getting involved in helping protect the animals highlighted. The gorgeous illustrations wonderfully complement the very readable text. Highly recommended.
Hurricane
by John Rocco; illus. by the author
Primary Little, Brown 48 pp. g
9/21 978-0-7595-5493-1 $17.99
Life is good for our young narrator. He loves to fish, crab, swim, and just watch the river passing by, and claims a little-used and neglected neighborhood dock as his own. One summer day, a hurricane hits his small community (in what looks like the Southeast wetlands). Rocco's dramatic, naturalistic digitally colored watercolor illustrations, a mix of panels, single pages, and spreads, show the impending storm approaching and the community's preparations of boarding up houses and taping windows. When the storm hits, the wind uproots trees, rain slices through the night sky, and floods wash cars away. The next morning dawns bright and still, and the boy rushes to his dock--which, like so much in his community, has been destroyed. After a day of helping rebuild around the neighborhood, the boy tackles the dock on his own. It's too big a job, however, and he is unsuccessful until all his neighbors show up to help, and together they create not his dock but, in the narrator's words, our dock, which becomes a shared gathering place. Front endpapers present a diagram of a hurricane's formation, while the closing endpapers show a diagram of a dock's construction. As in the author's Blizzard (rev. 11/14), it is the human response to an extreme weather event that informs this strikingly illustrated, straightforwardly told book's theme. betty carter
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.hbook.com/magazine/default.asp
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Carter, Betty. "Hurricane." The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 97, no. 5, Sept.-Oct. 2021, p. 82. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A673853045/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=573dd32e. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
Rocco, John HURRICANE Little, Brown (Children's None) $17.99 9, 7 ISBN: 978-0-7595-5493-1
Adversity brings out the best in people.
A young boy, perhaps the author/illustrator’s younger self, witnesses this principle firsthand—and is himself a testament to it—when a hurricane wreaks havoc. Readers meet the young narrator, who describes his “favorite place in the world” as the neighborhood dock, overlooking the nearby river, where he swims and fishes. Returning home one day, he sees his dad reinforcing their house’s windows because a hurricane’s approaching. The boy worries: What will happen to his dock? The storm’s destructive fury is dramatically portrayed both textually and visually, allowing readers to share his concern. The boy’s fears are confirmed next morning when he observes the storm’s damage to his street: Indeed, the dock has been destroyed. Unfortunately, neighbors can’t help immediately, as they’re occupied with their own home repairs; nevertheless, the boy lends them a helping hand. Afterward, with pluck, ingenuity, and every resource available, the kid attempts dock repair himself…until all his neighbors, having completed their own work and been impressed by the boy’s initiative, pitch in with new supplies and sturdily fix up “our dock.” This is exactly told, down-to-earth story about folks coming together in troubled times will evoke readers’ empathy. The excellent, realistic illustrations, rendered in pencil and watercolors, enhance the already accessible, satisfying reading experience. The narrator and dad present White; neighbors are somewhat diverse. Front endpapers provide facts about how hurricanes develop. Rear endpapers include a replica of a charming note written by 6-year-old Rocco to his parents about a fishing trip and a labeled diagram featuring the parts of a dock. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Both informative and emotionally gratifying. (Picture book. 4-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Rocco, John: HURRICANE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2021. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A669986332/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4fd0d502. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
Rocco, Hayley HOW TO SEND A HUG Little, Brown (Children's None) $17.99 11, 15 ISBN: 978-0-316-30692-8
Hugs are for everyone anytime they need a little extra love, but how can you hug a person who lives far away?
Talking on the phone or via computer isn't enough, but luckily Artie shares a way to send a hug--by writing a letter. Infused with the love a hug carries, these step-by-step instructions begin with finding the right writing implement and paper and taking plenty of time for this important task. The story then follows the letter's journey from the mail drop through a variety of possible transports ("by two legs and four legs, by four wheels and two wheels") to the magic of delivery and the even greater joy of getting a reply. Readers as lucky as Artie will receive a return letter that carries the scent of its writer, like Grandma Gertie's missive, filled with rose petals. Fun wording, like putting the letter in a "special jacket to keep it safe and warm" (an envelope), sticking "a ticket" on the envelope "in just the right spot" (a stamp), and the letter being picked up by a "Hug Delivery Specialist" (postal worker), adds humor, as does Artie's ever present pet duck. Artie and Grandma Gertie present White; the postal workers and the other people depicted receiving letters throughout are racially and geographically diverse. The realistic illustrations in pencil, watercolor, and digital color expand the story and add a layer of love and humor. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A celebration of letters that gently gives young readers the knowledge and tools to share the love. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Rocco, Hayley: HOW TO SEND A HUG." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Oct. 2022. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A719982886/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4694f0c1. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
Rocco, Hayley WILD PLACES Putnam (Children's None) $19.99 2, 6 ISBN: 9780593618097
A tribute to the life's work and message of renowned naturalist, author, and filmmaker David Attenborough.
Though light on biographical specifics, even in the afterword, this profile does begin with a young David bicycling out of a smoke-choked English city into a green woodland, where the discovery of an ammonite fossil launches a lifelong interest in wild places and their animal residents and in telling people about both. In a memorable opening image, our planet is overlaid with a parade of dozens of animals that spiral out to finally portray one small, familiar, casually dressed gent. Illustrator John Rocco places Attenborough in paired settings; ugly urban sprawl, razed forests, dead reefs, and barren wastes are depicted alongside lush rain forests, vistas of alternative energy sources, and undersea reaches teeming with marine life. These images provide visual expression to Attenborough's later appeals to live on the Earth more responsibly and to "rewild" overfished oceans and mistreated lands. Attenborough remains a distant figure here but has become undeniably iconic and "our connection to the natural world" and "the voice of nature" over seven decades. In a grand symbolic final scene, he leads a racially diverse line of people from a city of eco-friendly high-rises into an even greener future. For fledgling conservationists and climate activists, the backmatter includes both leads to further resources and a starter table of "Problems" and "Solutions."
An inspiring overview of a life dedicated to essential eco-causes. (author's note) (Picture-book biography. 6-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Rocco, Hayley: WILD PLACES." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2023. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A774415042/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=daba1c5e. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
Hello, I'm a Quokka. By Hayley Rocco. Illus. by John Rocco. Sept. 2024. 32p. Putnam, $16.99 (9780593618189). PreS-Gr. 3. 599.22.
What's a quokka? A descriptive subtitle might have read, "The Most Adorable Little Animal You've Never Seen." A quokka's mouth naturally turns upward at the corners, creating what humans perceive as a smile. Most quokkas today live on Rottnest Island, off Australia's west coast. Originally, they lived throughout the continent, but after Europeans introduced foxes, the quokkas were unable to survive there. Though considerably smaller than its nearest relatives, the kangaroo and the wallaby, the quokka hops about on its strong back legs and the females have a pouch in front, where their baby, called a joey, lives for its first six months. Quokkas are nocturnal, and they eat mainly plants. In recent years, increasingly strong wildfires have destroyed much of their habitat. Biologists are working to protect quokkas by removing nonnative predators and observing the quokkas' movements. This appealing volume is from the Roccos' Meet the Wild Things series, which features other endearing and, sadly, endangered animals from around the world. A simply written, attractively illustrated, and informative introduction to a little-known but utterly charming animal.--Carolyn Phelan
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Phelan, Carolyn. "Hello, I'm a Quokka." Booklist, vol. 120, no. 19-20, 1 June 2024, p. 62. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A804018293/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6977faf4. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
Rocco, Hayley HELLO, I'M A PANGOLIN Putnam (Children's None) $16.99 6, 25 ISBN: 9780593618158
Join the only warm-blooded animal with scales on a quest for ants and termites over African grasslands.
Not to be confused with giant anteaters, armadillos, or anything else ("some people even say I look like an artichoke with a face"), the eight species of pangolins are actually related to bears and cats, walk on their hind legs ("like a T. rex!"), and can roll up into an armored ball to repel predators. Unfortunately, such defenses don't help against human predators, who misguidedly harvest pangolin scales for supposed medical purposes. According to a closing note, humans poach up to 200,000 pangolins a year, giving them the status of "most illegally trafficked mammal on Earth." Still, glimpses of people working to preserve pangolin populations (perhaps including the offstage child whose brown-skinned hand is inserted into one of the finely detailed illustrations) add an encouraging note; the closing fact file offers leads to animal-friendly organizations to support. Scenes of a lion fruitlessly trying to munch on a rolled-up pangolin and later views of an irrepressibly cute pangolin baby add plenty of visual pizzazz to this plea to readers' conscience. "Okay, well, there's oodles more ants to eat, so we'd better get going," says the pangolin parent, strolling off into the sunset. "But I hope to see you again soon!" Human characters are diverse.
An engagingly informal appeal.(Informational picture book. 5-7)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Rocco, Hayley: HELLO, I'M A PANGOLIN." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Oct. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A810315173/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=a570e007. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
Rocco, Hayley HELLO, I'M A SLOTH Putnam (Children's None) $16.99 6, 25 ISBN: 9780593618127
A genial slowpoke invites young readers to hang out in the trees.
"Oh, hiiiiiiiii!" Kicking off a series of basic encounters with threatened or endangered species, the Roccos wake a smiling brown-throated three-toed sloth from a nap so that it can describe its lifestyle in Mr. Rogers-style simplicity. "Actually, the only time I climb down to the ground is once a week to poop.How often do you poop?" Along with introducing the algae, fungi, and insects that live in its long hair ("I've got hundreds of friends with me wherever I go") and describing other sloth species, the arboreal narrator frets about predators like harpy eagles and the way logging has left gaps in the leafy understories, which make new food sources hard to reach. Luckily, though, there are people who plant new trees and string rope bridges between patches of forest to climb across. "Will you help, too?" Various leads to organizations that are working to preserve and restore sloth populations cap a closing set of additional sloth feats and facts, plus a more detailed explanation of the threats facing these slow, nonaggressive creatures. Human characters are diverse.
A particularly absorbing overview.(Informational picture book. 5-7)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Rocco, Hayley: HELLO, I'M A SLOTH." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Oct. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A810315172/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=861cefe4. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
Rocco, Hayley ALL THE BOOKS Little, Brown (Children's None) $18.99 10, 8 ISBN: 9780316512749
The magic of a public library, revealed.
Piper Waterstone, a plump little chipmunk with a voracious appetite for reading, never lets her books out of her sight. They are so special to her that she can't bear to part with them, so instead, she carries them with her wherever she goes. As her collection grows, however, transporting it becomes increasingly difficult. One rainy afternoon, her bike wobbles, and her wagon full of books spills onto the wet street. They get soaked. Piper is devastated. A gentle mole sees her plight and ushers her into the closest building--which happens to be the library. Piper looks up, mouth agape and paws clasped in wonder. This building is full of books! A glow from the majestic windows (or possibly the magic) envelops her and the mole librarian as they face the endless bookshelves. If Piper is going to join the library, she needs to learn to share the books that she loves so dearly. Is that a commitment she is willing to make? Deep, warm tones, with bright spots of gleaming lamps, wrap the space in comfort and coziness, while the anthropomorphized animals have a sweetly old-fashioned air. Notably, there's nary an electronic device in sight.
A loving ode to libraries, more needed than ever in a world of increasing book bans.(Picture book. 4-7)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Rocco, Hayley: ALL THE BOOKS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A802864994/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=87ce8f1f. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.