The Worry Stone (Hardcover)

by Marianna Dengler (Author) "She lives in the Ojai Valley of California, where the weather is mild most all year round..." (more)
Key Phrases: worry stone, Wind of Time

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 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Rising Moon; Fourth Impression edition (January 25, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873586425
• ISBN-13: 978-0873586429
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 9.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #389,166 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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

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" (State College, PA USA) - See all my reviews

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 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!