This Rock is Mine!
Kaye Umansky and Alice McKinley
Alison Green Books


What starts as a silly spat between two frogs about the ownership of a small rock quickly escalates into a full scale fight with each frog in turn drawing the other’s attention to belongings that prove the rock is theirs..

Unbeknown to the two little amphibians, their altercation has been watched by a very large long-legged, long-necked bird. Suddenly, as we see in Alice McKinley’s close-up scene, a menacing shadow appears over the disputed rock and two tiny lives are in danger of being extinguished.


After a desperate dive and a decision about the worthiness of the cause of their argument, the frogs come to two conclusions: the first is that the rock is after all, ‘no good’ and another needs to be found; the second is that friendship is far better than fighting and sharing is the way to a happy co-existence.


Kaye Umansky’s bouncy rhyming text combined with Alice McKinley’s dramatic visuals make a superb read aloud that adults will delight in presenting to young children; they in turn will delight in the unfolding of events. I really love what happens on the penultimate spread where we see two rocks and an indication that frogs are not the only creatures with a possessive streak.