Flagstaff artist and writer Linda Kranz has published another book featuring Adri, the character from her previous book, Only One You (Rising Moon), which I reviewed in 2009.

Kranz devotees know that Adri is a colorful, meticulously hand-painted oval rock. In You Be You (Taylor Trade, 2011), Adri shares the stage with hundreds of other colorful, meticulously hand-painted rocks.

The message of the book, written for ages 4 to 8, is the same: each person is a unique individual even while being part of a larger group.

You Be You brings a whole new level of excitement to painted rocks. A rounded, smooth rock is a limited canvas but Kranz’s design and the variety of patterns on the rocks makes the book worthwhile before you even read a single word. I looked through the entire book and marveled at the painting and design before I went back to read it.

I imagine kids scavenging their yard and their neighbors’ yards for smooth rocks to paint and creating their own population of rock characters. I envy Kranz the many hours of meditative, painterly joy she undoubtedly…

—Raising Arizona Kid’s Magazine