Informational Resources:

Author Information:

Jennifer Bradbury’s website:

https://jennifer-bradbury.com/

Meet-the-Author Recording with Jennifer Bradbury (3:35):

https://www.teachingbooks.net/book_reading.cgi?id=23603

Illustrator Information:

Sam Boughton’s website:

https://samboughton.co.uk/

Activities & Resources:

Activities:

Nek Chand

Nek Chand Foundation Official Website

https://nekchand.com/

The Man Who Spent 60 Years Turning an Indian Forest into a Fantastical Sculpture Garden

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-road-inspector-turned-indian-forest-fantastical-sculpture-garden

Create an interactive timeline of Nek Chand’s life. Use the timeline in the back of the book.

http://interactives.readwritethink.org/timeline

Create a brochure for Nek Chand’s Rock Garden in India.

https://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/printing-press

India & Pakistan

Learn about Chandigarh, India

https://www.fabhotels.com/blog/india-tourism/chandigarh-tourism/#:~:text=Chandigarh%20is%20best%20known%20for,Indian%20as%20well%20as%20overseas.

India Facts for Kids (1:27)

https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=kMCUCYKm3LY&t=7s

Ducksters Facts on India

https://www.ducksters.com/geography/country/india.php

Learn about Pakistan

https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Pakistan/345761

Conservation/Upcycling

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (4:48)

https://jr.brainpop.com/science/conservation/reducereuserecycle/

How to create your own pebble art

https://frenchcotton.co.uk/how-to-create-your-own-pebble-art/

42 Easy Water Bottle Crafts

https://www.favecrafts.com/Green-Crafting/14-Easy-to-Make-Water-Bottle-Crafts?ss=78888&cs=15575_1642795222_ea0b4f7d21d47450d1c9683be172e4df

MakerSpace Activities:

Design your own rock garden.

http://talesfromthetravellingartteacher.blogspot.com/2017/09/theres-only-one-you-tips-to-create-rock.html

Create a garden tic-tac-toe game

https://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/garden-tic-tac-toe/

Make a windchime out of repurposed items (6:15)

https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=LuyxoS2G4Kw

Make a fairy garden out of a broken pot. (7:58)

https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=MUrc7t9IoV8&t=49s

STEM Goes Green – 16 Upcycled and Earth Friendly Projects for Kids

https://leftbraincraftbrain.com/stem-goes-green-17-upcycled-and-earth-friendly-projects-for-kids/?cn-reloaded=1

Discussion Questions:

Look at the cover of the book. Think of three adjectives that describe what you see. Why did you select those particular adjectives?

What do you think of the book’s title? How does it relate to the book’s contents? What other title might you choose?

Nek was homesick for his home country of Pakistan. Describe a time when you were homesick.

Describe some of the things that Nek made from discarded items. Which item impressed you the most? Why?

Why do you think Nek kept his garden a secret for so long?

Nek had a job building roads in the city during the day and he worked on his secret garden at night. How were these two creations similar? How were they different?

Not everyone loved what Nek had made. Why did some people complain about Nek’s garden?

Do you think it was okay for Nek to use city materials to make his garden? Why or why not?

Why did the city order a road to be built through the garden?

Do you agree with the reason for building the road through the garden? Explain your answer.

How did the construction of the road get stopped? What would you have done?

Describe some obstacles that Nek faced while building the garden.

What would you do if you stumbled upon a secret garden in the heart of a bustling city?

What are some adjectives you would use to describe Nek Chand?

What individual strengths did Nek Chand possess that contributed to his community?

What individual strengths do you possess that can contribute to your community?

What are some new things you learned from reading this book?

Why do you think the author, Jennifer Bradbury, decided to tell this

story?

Why do you think the author added a timeline in the back of the book?

Read the author’s note in the back of the book. Why do you think she included this note?

Book Talk Teasers:

Read the Reader’s Theater for Rock by Rock: The Fantastical Garden of Nek Chand.

Watch the book trailer for Rock by Rock: The Fantastical Garden of Nek Chand embedded at the bottom of the page.

Read Alikes:

Friedman, Samantha. Matisse's garden. Describes how the artist Henri Matisse began cutting shapes out of paper and posting them on his walls, and how this simple pastime developed into a series of remarkable works of art, and presents fold-out reproductions of eight examples. (NoveList Plus)

MacLachlan, Patricia. The iridescence of birds: a book about Henri Matisse. A story inspired by the life of the influential French master artist considers how he transformed his dreary childhood community in northern France through his expressions of color and form. (NoveList Plus)

Markel, Michelle. The fantastic jungles of Henri Rousseau. Presents a biography of French artist Henri Rousseau, who spent his life as a toll collector, but created unheralded masterpieces in his spare time.(NoveList Plus)

Novesky, Amy. Cloth lullaby: the woven life of Louise Bourgeois. Shares the childhood of the famous artist as she apprenticed in her family's tapestry shop and was inspired by her mother's work as a weaver. (NoveList Plus)

Winter, Jeanette. Henri’s scissors. Describes the artist's early sketching hobby, famous paintings, and the illness that confined him to a wheelchair and inspired his sophisticated paper-cutout masterworks. (NoveList Plus)

Reviews:

Bradbury, Jennifer. Illustrated by Sam Boughton. Rock by Rock: The Fantastical Garden of Nek Chand. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dloughy Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2021.

No Booklist or SLJ reviews available.