Maureen Devlin’s Let’s Go Backer and Backer! begins with something small enough to hold in one hand: a shiny piece of obsidian. A park ranger shows it to a group of children, and that simple encounter opens a question about where the rock came from. This children’s book follows the answer backward through cooling lava, an erupting volcano, and magma beneath the surface. It’s an inviting way to introduce geology because the starting point is so tangible. Children can picture themselves gathered around the ranger, wanting a closer look. The playful title also gives the book a clear sense of purpose: keep asking how something came to be, and see where the question takes you.

The writing uses a cumulative pattern, adding a new piece of information while repeating the steps readers have already encountered. That structure gives the book a steady rhythm for reading aloud and lets children anticipate familiar language as the explanation grows. Descriptions of heat, movement, shine, and smoothness make the geological processes feel active and connected to the senses. Scientific words such as “magma” and “volcanologists” appear within that repeated pattern, giving listeners several chances to hear them in context. The later passages become quite long, so an adult reader will want to pause and give children time to follow each connection. Those pauses could become useful moments to point at the pictures or invite children to explain the sequence themselves.

Nancy D. Conde’s illustrations give this picture book much of its energy. The outdoor scenes feature green hills, flowers, drifting leaves, and butterflies, while the volcanic spreads fill the pages with orange, yellow, red, and deep charcoal tones. The eruptions are especially striking: bright sprays and glowing channels make the heat and force easy to imagine. A view into the volcano helps readers connect the magma below ground with the lava above it. Obsidian appears as a glossy black rock crossed with colorful streaks, giving the object at the center of the story a distinctive visual identity. The children’s attentive faces and the ranger’s welcoming expression bring warmth to the opening, and the large lettering, with selected words picked out in color, helps organize the increasingly full pages.

One of the book’s most interesting choices comes near the end, when the backward journey reaches a scientist’s childhood. A little girl who once imagined becoming a volcanologist grows up to do that work, extending the book’s interest in origins to the people who study the natural world. The illustration of her examining a rock, surrounded by crayons and improvised play materials, makes that connection particularly approachable. It gives children a recognizable place within a story that also contains enormous eruptions and underground heat. Devlin’s dedication, which recalls reading with her twin daughters and answering their questions, fits the book’s conversational approach. For families, classrooms, or young readers who enjoy rocks and volcanoes, this is a lively read-aloud that can lead naturally into a closer look at a stone and another round of questions.

Pages: 24 | ASIN: B0HCF88WD6