Stone Soup [Paperback]

Ann Mcgovern (Author), Winslow Pinney Pels (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The familiar folktale was first retold by McGovern in 1968. Now Pels has provided new pictures for this simple story about a young wayfarer who tricks an old woman into making him a hearty soup. When she refuses him food, he asks her for a pot of water. Then he puts a stone into it and waits for it to become stone soup. "It's cooking fast now," says the hungry young man, "but it would cook faster with some onions." Soon the old woman has added vegetables, meat bones, barley and butter, musing at the miracle of stone soup. She resembles Tenniel's Red Queen, and has pins and needles sticking in her back; the young man's arms and legs are jarringly angular. Perhaps Pels's idiosyncratic style is too somber for this funny story, making it unnecessarily dark.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2 An "easy-to-read retelling" of a traditional folktale. While it is considerably shorter than Marcia Brown's Stone Soup (Scribners, 1947) and is written in short, declarative sentences, it is also a lackluster retelling that is repetitious and downright tedious to read. It's a bit like being served a big bowl of stone soup without the benefit of meat, vegetables, or any spice. There are only two characters: a young man who is hungry and an old woman who learns about Stone Soup. The elaborate, detailed pastel drawings are evocative, but the perspective is sometimes askew. The old woman looms tall in some drawings while appearing frail and petite in others. The facial expressions often border on the grotesque. Stick to the orignal. Luann Toth, Summit Free Public Library, N.J.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc. (September 1, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590416022
• ISBN-13: 978-0590416023
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 7.4 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Children's Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > European
  • #2 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Literature > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > European
  • #14 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Literature > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Stories

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT TELLING OF A VERY OLD TALE, September 30, 2008

By 

D. Blankenship (The Ozarks) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stone Soup (Paperback)

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 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 first to admit that I have read better, but still think that this one will do in a pinch.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic tale! Always a pleasure!, August 22, 2000

By 

"iloveprovence" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stone Soup (Paperback)

Stone Soup is a classic story brought to life through the pictures by Winslow Pinney Pels. A young man, a pauper, spies a house that looks like plenty of food could be found there. The old woman who owns the house tells him to go away, she has no food in the house, no food in the garden. The young man asks her for a stone. "A stone, what do you want with a stone," she curiously asks the pauper. "Ah," says he, and he knows he HAS her. As the story unfolds, the young man has the woman adding more and more ingredients to the stone soup the young man is making. Completely duped, until possibly the very end, the old woman is the young man's accomplice in tricking herself into providing the pauper with a "feast for a king." And what will become of the stone, read the story, and find out! You'll enjoy it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review for Stone Soup, December 3, 1999

By 

Chris Havermale (Quincy, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stone Soup (Paperback)

This is the BEST book I have ever read! I still enjoy reading this book even today. I especially love how the pieper gets the old woman to cook him a huge pot of soup, from a stone. Also she has no idea that she is making him a soup. She thinks he really did make soup from that stone. This is by far the greatest book I have ever read! If I had the choice I would rate this book six stars. This is still my favorite book to this date and it will continue to be forever! I would recommend this book to everyone.