The Worry Stone [Hardcover]

Marianna Dengler (Author), Sybil Graber Gerig (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

Folks say if you're troubled or worried, and if you rub the stone gently, like this, the worry goes away. Every day the woman walks to the park, the bright red feather bobbing on her floppy old hat. She watches the children play and tries not to think about her own children, scattered to the winds, and herself, growing older each day. Then one day a small, serious boy joins her on the park bench, and she realizes that once she was small and serious, too, but she had Grandfather--and his stories--to make life wonderful. Perhaps there is a way to share that wonder. The Worry Stone is three tales woven together, the way human lives are connected despite distance and time. It pays homage to the first people of California's Ojai Valley, the Chumash Indians, and the power of folktales spoken aloud. Written and illustrated with loving hands, The Worry Stone shows us how the stories of the past can join with the unfolding future, turning one lonely old woman and one lonely young boy into friends.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3 Up. A lonely, elderly woman visits the park each day, where she notices a lonely boy, who sits on the bench by her. He is silent, watching the other children play. The unhappy youngster reminds her of her own childhood when she was comforted by a special closeness with her grandfather. She especially enjoyed her grandfather's stories, including one regarding a stone she'd found. Her grandfather calls it a worry stone, and spins a tale around it involving the Chumash people. When her grandfather dies, the child remembers it and is comforted. Now an old woman, she shares the stone and its stories with the boy on the bench. This sincere effort has a heavy touch. The telling is marred by an excess of sentiment and cliches (e.g., a "hacienda on the edge of time"). Gerig's watercolor illustrations are pretty, but overly romanticized, awash in lovely if unlikely color. Dengler's tale itself is profound and moving, if less than convincing. This book will find its most sympathetic audience among adults who have felt the power of stories in their lives.?Marilyn Taniguchi, Santa Monica Public Library, CA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 3^-5. An original folktale in the spirit of the peaceful Chumash tribe of California centers this masterful picture book for older children. Spinning off from that tale are two other generation-linking stories. Amanda, an old woman, enjoys watching children play in the park but is troubled by a sad-faced child who silently shares her bench. Finally the boy tells her that the other children say he is too little to play with them. The boy's hurt reminds Amanda of her own childhood, and thus begins the second story. No one in her large family on the hacienda had time to play with her, no one except Grandfather. The highlight of their days together was the stories Grandfather shared. One was inspired by a shiny, smooth stone Amanda picked up on their morning walk. Calling her find a worry stone, Grandfather told her the story of the Indian bride Tokatu's tears for her dead husband--tears that became stones and, when rubbed slowly and thoughtfully, the stones seemed to ease the holder's troubles. Amanda didn't put much stock in her stone's powers until Grandfather died. Then she found that rubbing it brought back fond memories of Grandfather and soothed her pain. Amanda gives that same worry stone to the boy. Such a gift requires an explanatory story, which, in turn, leads to friendship between the old woman and the child, bringing full circle the power of storytelling to bridge and bond the generations. The poignant, heartwarming story is lyrically written and is illustrated with equal eloquence. Gerig's training in medical and biological illustration is apparent in the lifelike faces and postures done in watercolor and watercolor pencil. A picture-book treasure. Ellen Mandel

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Cooper Square Publishing Llc (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873586425
• ISBN-13: 978-0873586429
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #597,551 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written, exquisitely illustrated, October 18, 2001

By 

Bibliotekaria (Northern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Worry Stone (Hardcover)

As a school librarian, I chose to read this book aloud as a source of comfort for our students after the attacks of Sept. 11 and then gave each student a "worry stone" (a polished river rock) to keep. The kids were spellbound by the story and seemed to treasure the memento.

The three stories in one gives the book a timeless quality that spans generations. An added bonus was the curriculum tie-in for us in California through the Chumash legend. I give this book my highest recommendation.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of our family's top five books, January 4, 2000

By 

"kmmdaley" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Worry Stone (Hardcover)

This story is a beautiful interweaving of three stories, a Native American woman who loses her husband in war, a girl's relationship with her grandfather, and an old woman who discovers how to reach a lonely child that she has seen in the park. It is a gentle and lovely way to introduce to children the concept of death and a chance to discuss the value of the people we love in our lives and to understand the feelings of others. The story is wonderful in itself, but the illustrations make it even more so. They seem to glow with an inner light.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful, touching story, September 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Worry Stone (Hardcover)

This book has become one my family's favorites - hard to read without a catch in your voice. A story about the circle of life and the importance of grandfather/grandmother figures in a child's life. I cannot recommend this book highly enough! Beautiful illustrations!