Today is the official publication day of One Cosmic Rock, wonderfully illustrated by Julia Vasileva, and I’m thrilled it’s out in the world! It’s a companion book to One Tiny Bubble, illustrated by Dawn Lo, which won the 2023 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award for Canada, among other honours.

What the Book Is About

Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid hurtled through space toward an ancient Earth that looked very different from the one we know today. Back then, enormous creatures towered over marshes, soared above forests, and ruled the seas, while smaller life-forms scurried and snarled, swam and bloomed. Then—SMASH!—an icy cosmic rock crashed into the planet, and life on Earth was completely changed.

Though many species were made extinct because of this one cosmic rock, some life found a way to continue and develop over millions of years, eventually evolving into the diverse life-forms—including humans!—that thrive on our planet today.

My Inspiration For This Book

I was inspired by a quote by Ludovic Ferrière, curator of the rock collection at Vienna’s Natural History Museum, who said, “Rocks are like books. You can look at the cover and get some basic information, but it’s when you open them that you get the full story.”

My first draft was about a meteor crashing into Earth, yet the wonderful editorial staff at Owlkids Books suggested I might focus on the asteroid that impacted the dinosaurs instead. I dove into research and agreed that this rock fit the theme of universal (and planetary) connection to our current lives on this planet in the same way that One Tiny Bubble did. I was hooked.

I wrote the new manuscript quickly, loving the high drama and action surrounding this rock. I welcomed the opportunity to explore the idea of resilience through an evolutionary lens.

Challenges When Writing

It was a challenge to figure out how to write about such a huge loss of life—the mass extinction of many species—in a way that honours the truth yet remains sensitive to the child reader.

After much thought, I placed the mass extinction of the dinosaurs at the midpoint of the book so that the focus of my story would be on resilience and adaptation after an unimaginable setback. I also included information in the backmatter about how scientists work to protect the Earth from another impact event, further caring for the anxious reader.

One Cosmic Rock asks young readers: Is it possible that we humans exist because of one cosmic rock? If life on Earth can survive this impact event, what else can it survive?

My Hopes For This Book

I hope this book opens space for readers to ponder and question their evolutionary existence. I hope they see it as a celebration of resilience. I hope it inspires hope.

Also, I hope readers will explore Julia Vasileva’s rich illustrations in depth, revisiting the book to discover the many fascinating species that have inhabited this rock called Earth. When I share this book with readers, I like to play a Name That Life-Form Game, since so many kids know more dinosaur species names than I do! For example:

On pp. 6–7, what dinosaurs, water creatures, and plants can you name?

On pp. 8–9, can you find the snake with legs? The spider with a tail? The bird with teeth and claws on their wings? What other life-forms can you name?

For more ideas about how to use this book, please check out our Classroom Discussion and Activity Guide.

Praise for One Cosmic Rock

“This vibrant, engaging book provides the perfect introduction to the last day of the dinosaurs and the resilience of life on Earth.”
Professor Paul M. Barrett, Natural History Museum, London, England

“A joyous, lyrical celebration of planetary life.”
Kirkus Reviews

“A compelling exploration of perseverance and the enduring story of life on Earth.”
Natalia Paruzel-Gibson, Author

New School Presentation

Dinosaurs and More! An Exploration of Your Earth Family

I’ll take students on a journey of the evolutionary history of life on Earth using One Tiny Bubble and/or One Cosmic Rock as a framework. We’ll celebrate our common ancestry through our Last Universal Common Ancestor, or LUCA, the one-celled organism that sparked all life on Earth over 3.5 billion years ago. We’ll celebrate the resilience of life on Earth through the story of the asteroid responsible for the dinosaurs’ extinction 66 million years ago. And we’ll honour the diverse life-forms that thrive on our planet today – including humans. I’ll facilitate an oral story-writing exercise with the group and conclude with a Q&A. Themes: STEM; Environment and nature; Building resiliency and mental health; Writing activities.

You can also check out my other book talks and writing workshops.

To order One Cosmic Rock: