The Great Stone Face [Paperback]

Nathaniel Hawthorne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004

Purchase one of 1st World Library's Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. 1st World Library-Literary Society is a non-profit educational organization. Visit us online at www.1stWorldLibrary.ORG - THE first three numbers in this collection are tales of the White Hills in New Hampshire. The passages from Sketches from Memory show that Hawthorne had visited the mountains in one of his occasional rambles from home, but there are no entries in his Note Books which give accounts of such a visit. There is, however, among these notes the following interesting paragraph, written in 1840 and clearly foreshadowing The Great Stone Face: 'The semblance of a human face to be formed on the side of a mountain, or in the fracture of a small stone, by a lusus naturae [freak of nature]. The face is an object of curiosity for years or centuries, and by and by a boy is born whose features gradually assume the aspect of that portrait. At some critical juncture the resemblance is found to be perfect. A prophecy may be connected.'

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-5-The Great Stone Face (more commonly referred to today as "The Old Man of the Mountains) juts out from the White Mountains of New Hampshire and looms over a small village. An old prophecy states that: "Someone will be born hereabouts who will look just like the Great Stone Face, and he will be the noblest person of his time." Like many others, young Ethan watches the faces of returning famous men for signs of the gentle wisdom seen in the face. The rich merchant, however, is grasping, the soldier only stern, and the politician-well, a politician. Ethan, meanwhile, works hard on his farm, and is looked up to by his neighbors for the thoughtful counsel he offers. When he is an old man, people remark that they fear they will never see the prophecy fulfilled. Ethan's granddaughter, touching his face, remarks that it was fulfilled long ago. Schmidt has done a credible job of retelling Hawthorne's classic tale, eliminating flowery language, and rendering it accessible for a new generation. While the story is intrinsically a teaching tool, this retelling avoids didacticism and lets the events speak for themselves. Farnsworth's oil paintings do a fine job of capturing the beauty of the New England landscape. There is a still, slightly hazy quality to them that is entirely appropriate to the meditative tone of the book. This thoughtful look at what it means to live a good life is as relevant today as when first written.
Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-5. In Schmidt's picture-book retelling of Nathaniel Hawthorne's story, young Ethan grows to manhood in a small New Hampshire village within view of the Great Stone Face in the granite cliffs. He learns of the prophecy connected with the face--a person will be born who resembles the carving and then go on to live a noble life. On several occasions the villagers feel that the prophecy has come to pass, but each time Ethan realizes that the person's character is flawed. Much later Ethan's granddaughter recognizes that it is Ethan himself who looks like the noble image. The text is clear and succinct, with a stately rhythm that lends itself to reading aloud, and Farnsworth's beautifully rendered oil paintings reflect both the nineteenth-century New England setting as well as the elegant tone of the text. The artist excels at landscapes, but his faces are also wonderfully impressive. The intended audience will probably be unfamiliar with both Hawthorne and the original story, but this aptly told version will spark much discussion about character and a life well lived. Kay Weisman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 76 pages
• Publisher: 1st World Library - Literary Society (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159540113X
• ISBN-13: 978-1595401137
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an imagination of one's mind, November 23, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Seoul, Korea) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Stone Face (Hardcover)

I am much interested in teaching lessons for kids. There are too many books to teach knowledge, but hard to find any to teach wisdom. We, adults, sholud teach our children the abstract conceptions, such as happy, perseverence, love, imagination, wisdom, mercy etc, through books. I think this book is really good because I can teach easily my children that you can be what you think in your mind, what you will think in your mind, good or bad. Introduce this book to your kids,and discuss the strength of imagination. Thank you.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Great Stone Face, August 31, 2010

By 

Sue C. Wanlass (KEENE, NH, US) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Great Stone Face (Paperback)

The book was in SHORTHAND! It was to be a gift for a very special person (who does not read shorthand)! What a disappointment.

4 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The book could have been better., October 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Great Stone Face (Hardcover)

This book was unable to hold my interest. I thought the book was boring. This book had a good plot. The reason I was not to fond of the "The Great Stone Face" was because there wasn't much action. If you like action don't read this book, but if you like stories set in the Early American times or legends this book would be great for you. This book would be good for kids in sixth through tenth grade. I think the author did a good job on the "The Great Stone Face" and I would probably read another one of his books.