Jon J. Muth

Gorgeous artwork illuminates this children's adaptation of Tolstoy's classic story. In truth, I find this version more powerful and more convincing.

That being said...

While this story isn't without decent advice, it's mostly facile. In general, I have three reactions to this story (both this children's version and also Tolstoy's original):

1) I inherently distrust anyone who claims easy and obvious answers to life's challenges and problems.

2) I inherently distrust wise hermits / men living show more alone on mountain tops. What do they know about living in a society, about being a member of a community of people?

3) My biggest concern is how this could be read:

"The most important person is the one you are with" and "The most important thing is to do good for the one who is standing at your side" could just as easily justify discounting everyone who isn't close to you, who isn't part of your group. It implies that most people in the world aren't important. It could just as easily imply that you shouldn't bother to care about people distant from you, who aren't a part of your immediate life and experience.

"The most important time is now" seems awfully short-sighted. Actions have consequences and we have a responsibility to the future. This piece of wisdom could just a easily justify carelessness and not thinking things through.

I know none of that is the intention of this story: indeed, it wants to teach lessons of compassion and caring. I just worry about how easily it can be read to justify solipsism and short-sightedness. show less

In this beautiful picture book, Stillwater the panda tells a typical Chinese ghost story. In terms of British folklore, we might call the appearance of the missing young woman a changeling or "stock"... an ailing, not-quite-human replacement for a vanished daughter... but in Chinese folklore, it's a ghost story. This is a lovely tale, that unlike the other Stillwater tales, does not undertake to teach us how to live; but like the rest, it causes us to ponder a bit about the nature of life. show more And in this case, about identity. Was one of the women more "real" than the other, and if so, which one? show less

I cried as I was reading this book. The story sums up what it means to find true love and beauty through a time of brokenness. In the beginning, Jon Muth, the author introduces the pure value of three Chinese buddhist monks by having one ask, “What makes one happy,” which Siew, one of the monks, responds by saying, “Let’s find out.” This could be used to explain foreshadowing to children. The next page uses brilliant watercolor paint work to support the stated history of a village show more that struggled to survive through famine, floods, and war. The art work evidently supports the storyline again when it captures the attitudes of the villagers. For instance, the seamstress has her nose held up high and the seemingly obese carpenter is pushing back a closet full of food, which I assume is all for himself. After having felt the eeriness and constraint of the village, the monks agree that “these people do not know happiness” and decide to “show them how to make stone soup,” which I predict will effectively incite children’s curiosities as it had for me. I also liked how the first villager to approach the busy monks is a little girl because it reminds me, and probably people of older generations, of the purity and innocence of childhood. Also, the colors used in the illustrations are all neutral until this little girl approaches the monks wearing a bright yellow tunic.
As the monks and the little girl cook, the monks encourage more and more villagers to contribute to the stone soup, and I especially love how the author states that “Something magical began to happen among the villagers. As each person opened their heart to give, the next person gave even more. And as this happened, the soup grew richer and smelled more delicious.” I could go on and on about this sentence alone. This sentence holds so much meaning, more than I can comprehend. Firstly, the structure of the sentences and word choice is perfect. Each sentence/word contains so much meaning that just comes together beautifully as a whole. Secondly, these three sentences demonstrate how happiness can be achieved by seeing the light in others and letting yourself be influenced by other broken people despite all their flaws. The following pages of the feast and the following entertainment appropriately capture the Chinese culture, what happiness may have looked like for them, and what happiness may look like to all the cultures apparent in the reader’s mind. The book also states that the villagers “unlocked their doors and took the monks into their homes,” which I think represents the villagers’ acts of unlearning what they’ve learned, which is to be untrusting and suspicious towards strangers, and even their neighbors.
After the villagers soften their walls that once divided them from one another, they gather around to say a warm goodbye to their heroes (which makes me reconsider my personal definition of a hero). After the monks first thank the villagers for their generosity, the villagers demonstrate what they have learned when they reply by saying, “Thank you. With the gifts you have given, we will always have plenty. You have shown us that sharing makes us all richer.” This is the best book ever! I love Jon J Muth for writing a story of achieving true and rooted merriment. Of course the story is not completely realistic, but it’s realistic enough to inspire change. show less

By far my favorite version of this timeless tale. We especially loved the water color, the Buddhist spin, and how the author/illustrator? taught us at the end how to study the illustrations in this and consequently any book for deeper meaning by introducing a few common symbols utilized for this piece. We went back and "read" the pictures again afterward. Morgan was delighted to learn that he had already noticed several details that I hadn't (he always does--that eye for visual detail); he show more learned for the first time that things he sees are not noticed by everyone, and that the illustrator does certain things to communicate ideas. The whole experience of reading this book together, even after we've both read or heard the general story countless times, was immeasurably valuable. show less