Talking Rock

by Ruth Ainsworth

Lonely because he cannot join his parents in Nigeria until he is out of quarantine with the measles, young Jakes builds a sandboy, with shells, seaweed, and sand, who mysteriously comes to life

Hardcover

About the author

Ruth Gallard Ainsworth was a British writer, of over seventy children's books and numerous radio scripts.

Reviews

[Allison Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book a few times as a middle schooler. I can still visualize where it was located on the shelves when I would check it out. For years I couldn’t remember the title but would search online every once in a while with the details I could remember. Recently I came across a website to help track down books, and after decades of searching I had found the title and author! It is out of print, but I found a used copy online and bought it right away. It was every bit of magical as my middle school self remembers.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my absolute favourite book when I was a child. I even put Ruth Ainsworth in third place on my list of favourite authors (after Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl). Unfortunately it was a library book and after a while disappeared from my local library, but I've always wished I could get hold of a copy again.