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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 398.210944
EAN num: 9780590416023
ISBN number: 0590416022
Label: Scholastic Ltd.
Manufacturer: Scholastic Ltd.
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 32
Printing Date: September 01, 1986
Publishing house: Scholastic Ltd.
Age index: Ages 4-8
Sale Popularity Level: 252073
Studio: Scholastic Ltd.
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Product Description:
A clever young man tricks an old woman into believing that soup can be made from a stone. As the pot of water boils with the stone in it, he urges her to add more and more ingredients until the soup is a feast 'fit for a king.' In print for 30 years.
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Rated by buyers -
Stone Soup by Ann McGovern and illustrated by Winslow Pinney Pels is the retelling of an old Grimm Brother's tale whose origin has probably been long lost. It is also known as Nail Soup in Scandinavia, and Axe Soup in parts of Europe. Some traditions, which is somewhat supported, place the origin of the story in Portugal. Originally the story consisted of a group of hungry solders returning from the war, who talked an entire town into providing them with an entire meal using the "stone soup method." The version of the story told here has two characters; a young and poor wondering youth, and a somewhat poor old woman who actually has plenty that he tries to talk out of a meal.
When the old lady refuses our young wondering man a meal, he of course starts with a rock he picked up from the road. After he adds the rock to a pot of boiling water, to make "stone soup" he has the little old lady hooked. He points out that the stone soup would be much enhanced with the addition of some onions. The little old lady of course has onions, so she adds them. This goes on and on like this with one ingredient after another being added at the coaxing of the young man and the curiosity of the old lady increasing as the story progresses. In the end, the young man gets a fine pot of stew, a full belly, and I suspect, after the little old lady thinks about it, she becomes much wiser.
The author has done a fine job in this version of the tale and the illustrations are top notch. The artist has used detailed water colors and has captured the poverty of the youth perfectly. The depictions of the clothing alone are works of art.
This is a great read-along book or one that is good for the child to read to themselves. Both test and illustrations are well coordinated.
Since this version of this story was very first published in 1968 it has come under some criticism as some feel it teaches children to lie and deceitful. It also shows a very uncaring and unsharing little old lady, both not good traits. While I agree that the axe version may show and teach the advantages of cooperation better; that working together, all benefit, I also feel there are lessons to be learned from this version. First, children need to learn the facts that people do lie and lie all the time. Secondly, that they should questions the overall big picture and not take everything at face value and thirdly, when you want something from someone, don't tell them how desperately they need it, but rather create the impression that you are giving them an opportunity to be part of your success. I firmly believe that we can be, and often are, too sheltering and protective of our children; to the point of hurting them later in life.
I enjoyed this book. I use it all the time with children I read to and in fact, used an oral version of this tale to teach my children and grandchildren, much as I was by my grandfather years and years ago.
Note that there are other and many versions of this book out. I will be the very first to admit that I have read better, but still think that this one will do in a pinch.
Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
Rated by buyers -
I think the product came in the time range the provider said. The condition was good. In the future, I hope this provider will have stone soup for others.
Rated by buyers -
One of my personal favorite stories from childhood, I bought this book to use to read to younger children. The illustrations are not the same as they were when I was a child, but they are still fantastic and vivid. The children love this story as much as I did.
Rated by buyers 
-
It is fitting that I read this book immediately after reading a historical novel that featured Samuel Clemons (Mark Twain). For this story is very similar to the classic Twain story of how Tom Sawyer gets a boy to do his painting for him.
A young man has been walking all day and is very tired and hungry. He has no food so he stops at the house of an elderly lady. He asks for food and is rejected. When that happens he asks for a stone instead and brags about how he can make a nutritious soup by boiling a stone. Once the cooking begins he then tells her how much better it would be if it included onions, butter, barley, carrots, beef bones, salt and pepper. The woman, amazed that a soup could be made with "only" a stone, fetches these additional ingredients. It turns out that the young man was right; the "stone soup" was in fact delicious. He then removes the stone, tells the woman that it is not completely cooked yet and proceeds on his way.
The illustrations that accompany this classic folk tale capture the poverty of the boy and the old woman. Both of them are wearing raggedy clothing and the pins sticking out of the clothing of the woman's posterior was an amusing touch. I strongly recommend this book as a way for children to learn a classic lesson about life.
Rated by buyers -
I'm probably not the norm here in comparison to the other reviewers, but this is really a cute book. After reading the other reviews, I'll probably get the other version as well. However, that said, my mother purchased this book for me when I was six-years-old and I STILL have it. It is read almost nightly in our house to a toddler who thoroughly enjoys it. He particularly likes to point out what's wrong. For example, the little old lady tells the young man that she has nothing in her garden to feed him, nor anything in her house. My little one always says, "she's lying." And, he also picked up the fact that the young man in the story never says please or even thank you after this lady fixes him this wonderful soup. That's really something too and I even have to add it in while I'm reading it.
This is a cute book but I do suggest getting the other French classic version as well. This young man is somewhat of a shiftless fellow, not working, but just conning meals off of folks. Not too sure of the message there and it is repetitious which is good for young children. I do recommend it, however, since it is quite a cute story. Obviously, the illustrations in my 36-year-old book are quite different than this version so I will refrain from commenting on them.
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