Stone Soup: An Old Tale

Stone Soup is a classic picture book, showing that with a little persuasion and cooperation, three soldiers can convince a reluctant town to come together to make stone soup for everyone to enjoy. This is a funny story with some trickery, but the result is heartwarming, and a great example of how sharing what we have can be more fulfilling than keeping it to ourselves. Stone Soup is a Caldecott Honor Book, and it is easy to see why. The illustrations tell the story so well that readers who do not know all of the words could easily follow along with this sweet story and comprehend its meaning. The color palate of the illustrations vary between 5-6 colors that stay the same throughout the book. However, this limited color scheme does not show more make the book dull or boring; it helps further the story and establish the post-war feeling of the setting. show less

Although there seem to be any number of picture-books involving soup made with stones - Jon J. Muth's recent Stone Soup, for instance - this retelling of the traditional French variant of the tale is the one I grew up with, and it holds a special place in my heart! The story of three hungry soldiers, who, returning home from "the wars," find themselves in a village determined not to feed them, it is part trickster tale, part fable. Young readers will enjoy following the soldiers' ingenious method of procuring dinner, while also learning that resources go further, and produce a deeper sense of enjoyment, when they are shared.

Originally published in 1947, Stone Soup was was chosen as a Caldecott Honor Book, and it's not difficult to see show more why! Bold illustrations, colored in black and orange, perfectly capture the droll humor of the story. These soldiers know what they're about, and - looking at Marcia Brown's artwork - so does the reader. Highly recommended, to young folklore lovers, and to those who appreciate a somewhat vintage illustration style! show less

As someone who generally likes lushly coloured illustrations, I did not really expect to enjoy the illustrations of this version of the popular Stone Soup folktale. However, the illustrations are really quite wonderful (attention to detail, captured movement, wonderful expressions), and the simple combination of white, black, grey and orange shades works surprisingly well.

The illustrations notwithstanding, I am also very pleasantly surprised by the story itself. Marcia Brown's version of the tale clearly shows that the peasants do not simply fear strangers in general, they specifically fear strangers who are soldiers. When one then realises that historically, soldiers not only had the reputation of demanding and taking any type of show more supplies they might need/want without generally much thought of the needs and requirements of civilians, but that soldiers also often had both official and unofficial written guarantees permitting them to take any available and desired provisions from the towns, villages and cities through which they were passing (and without compensation), it is somewhat understandable that the villagers are at first rather suspicious of the soldiers and keep their food stores hidden. They might not want to share, and might even be a bit xenophobic, but first and foremost, the villagers are afraid of losing most, if not all of their stored foodstuff to the soldiers (and they could obviously not know in advance that the soldiers are, in fact, friendly).

In the end, the three soldiers manage to get the food they require neither by resorting to violence and threats nor do they simply search for the hidden provisions and take what they want, but by being able to entice the village to share what they have. The communal feast of stone soup not only celebrates sharing, it also celebrates community, friendship and the fact that one can achieve more by using one's wits. And above all, the soldiers are not only able to stay their hunger, the village is left with a much more positive impression regarding not only strangers, but soldiers in particular.

On a textual level the unhurried, almost caressing pace and tone of the narrative mirrors the slow, deliberate cooking process of the soup, creating an atmosphere of calm, but also one of joyous, curious anticipation. And the fact that all of the villagers have personal names (the villagers, not the three soldiers), that they are not simply anonymous entities, both personalises the narrative and allows for speculation and possible expansion. Thus, if I were reading this story aloud to a child (or a group of children), I might engage my audience by asking who of the villagers thinks that their grain needs to be hidden (Vincent and Marie), and why they might believe this. All in all, a very engaging (and at times thought-provoking) picture book, Marcia Brown's Stone Soup has stood the test of time and is still to be highly recommended. show less

It's funny how a single story changes with the telling. These days the classic tale of how to make stone soup has been told in a myriad of different tellings and versions. But if you harken back a little to Marci Brown's 1947 concoction, you see clearly that the story can be a little more sardonic than its alternate versions. In this tale, villagers are tricked out of their greed and fear into sharing and enjoying life with their neighbors. And it's all thanks to a soup that doesn't even exist.

I have burned through three different editions of Stone Soup, not liking each one (one had ugly weird illustrations, one was too sappy and rhyming, one was too modern and snotty) until I decided to try out the classic, Caldecott Honor version.

WHAT a change. THESE are the classic illustrations most of us grew up with. THESE are the soldiers and the peasants we read about. THIS is the story I'm keeping for my nieces. The telling isn't too clever, or too silly, or too watered-down, or too grown-up. The illustrations are neither too slick or too consciously old-fashioned. (Sheesh, I feel like I'm reviewing Goldilocks here!) I love it, love it, love it!

Please remember that this is a bit of a lengthy book for the smaller kids.

In Stone Soup, three soldiers come to a village asking for food and shelter from the locals. The town shuts their doors and claims to have no room, no food. The soldiers offer to make soup with just stones and water, the villagers eventually give all they can to make the soup better. The whole village, along with the soldiers, eat and drink and dance all night. The villagers learn that sharing is not so bad after all.
I like this story. It's sweet and simple and has a good lesson at its core. Children can easily understand how the villagers are being selfish and unkind to the strangers. The lesson is transferable to classroom behavior. While reading, I can ask questions: Are the villagers being kind? Are they being helpers at the show more beginning of the story? At the end?
Overall, a great read and a classic. show less

Revisiting a childhood favourite after quite a few decades, it's a lot meaner than I remembered, with uncomfortable hostility between the soldiers and the peasants.

Still, a great story, with classic illustrations, and the best lesson for when you open the refrigerator and "there's nothing to eat."