A Stone for Sascha

A young girl grieves for her beloved dog, who recently died, in this wordless picture-book from Aaron Becker. On her family's seashore vacation, she finds a very special stone, a stone with an ancient, storied history, and sensing its beauty and unique character, she brings it home as an offering to leave at Sascha's grave...

Becker, who won a Caldecott Honor for his earlier title, Journey, the first of a picture-book trilogy about a girl's adventures in a parallel fairy-tale world, proves with A Stone for Sascha that he is a master of the wordless story. The tale itself is poignant and thought-provoking, tying individual grief to ideas of time, survival, and the reuse of that very significant stone by diverse human civilizations down show more through the millennia. The artwork itself is gorgeous, beautiful in its own right, and more than enough to carry the story along. I appreciated the fact that Sascha's loving family here is African-American, although that is clearly not the focus of the story, and I found the depiction of the stone itself - it is luminous, as befits an object from the heavens - added a mysterious, almost enchanting element to the story. Recommended to Aaron Becker fans, and to anyone looking for beautiful new wordless picture-books. show less

While Journey, Quest, and Return have a relatively clear (if fantastical) plot to follow, A Stone for Sascha is a bit more metaphorical; I found the flap copy helpful. The story begins with the burial of the family dog, and then the family leaves on vacation. When they reach their lakeside camping spot, the girl sees another girl playing with her dog as she wistfully gathers stones in a bucket. When she throws one out to sea, the realism of the story gives way: the girl's stone travels into space, becoming a golden meteor; it seems to go back in time, as well, and strike the earth during the time of the dinosaurs. This chunk of golden meteor goes through many changes and many eras, becoming parts of sacred temples and statues, part of a show more bridge, part of an important carved relic. It is taken on a boat, which sinks, and it falls to the bottom, where, at last, the girl finds it. The holds the smooth gold stone in her palm, then presses it to her face with a smile; around her are the trees, the lake, and the sky full of stars. show less

Interesting wordless picture book about a girl who finds a golden rock and we learn the history of where that golden rock originated and what it went through to get to her hands. Beautiful illustrations.

The summary in GoodReads for this book is so good, I can't really top that. It starts with: 'A girl grieves the loss of her dog in an achingly beautiful wordless epic.'

The illustrations are awe inspiring and worthy of being looked at over and over.

Usually I like to give some quotes from a book but this one doesn't have any words!

So since I don't know how to add sample pictures to my review, (but might add some to my profile pictures), I thought I would give a thought from each page and help you visualize. This is telling you what is in the book, so best if you stop now and just go look at the book. But if you want to continue -

Cover page with picture of girl hugging her dog as they look away
Picking yellow flowers in a big field with the show more wind blowing some and family waiting in the background
Running to take the flower back
Hole in the ground, daddy holding a bundle to put in the hole, girl holding mama
Putting flowers on a little mound
Driving away with canoe on top of the car, and girl looking back to the mound with the flowers on it while a beautiful shoreline can be seen in the background
Family sets up camp by the shore, other families s play with their dog further away, girl is loading a bucket up with pretty stones
Getting darker, girl throwing stones (maybe couldn't find one good enough for Sascha?)
Golden ball of light plummeting through space
Blasts into the earth
Big Fragments working their way up past the dinosaurs
Big yellow rock spire poking up
Dark hand feeling the stone
4 people to move the big slab up a hill using logs as wheels (with a dog in the picture watching)
Rock standing tall in its own stone hedge, but falling over time, then carted off by someone much later
Big rock carved with symbols and raised to be part of a civilized city
Fighting with sword and shield and a big section of the rock taken away by ship
Rock carved into a block for another civilizations city
Put into a section of a huge Buddha statue
People on horseback with swords raised
Rock carted away by an elephant and then on to a sampan boat
Placed as a linchpin stone section in the a stone bridge with pagoda buildings in the background
Bridge crumbled with stone section fallen
Stone reached for by man with a Siamese cat
Chop chop to make dragon stature carved of stone
Sold to go far away on a sailing Junk
Sold to be home in a Polynesian home
But pirates come - when a dog is asleep
Pirates row out with their yellow stone art prize, while the dog barks and people with lanterns peer on
Sea is rough, pitches back and forth
Pirate reaching, but golden dragon pitched off ship
Sinking
Dragon breaks with currents, tumbles, worn down to a stone
Yellow stone seen in the lapping waves
Seems to glow in the waning light
Dark hand reaches down
Holding the golden stone
Rubbing
Holding it to her head as the stars come out
Treasured stone on a mound while children go to play

Your imagination can paint a picture in your mind of the pages but it won't do it justice. The cities representing the different civilizations are amazing. The beach with the girl is out of the Pacific Northwest is amazing. For a book with no words, it is amazing. show less

The summary in GoodReads for this book is so good, I can't really top that. It starts with: 'A girl grieves the loss of her dog in an achingly beautiful wordless epic.'

The illustrations are awe inspiring and worthy of being looked at over and over.

Usually I like to give some quotes from a book but this one doesn't have any words!

So since I don't know how to add sample pictures to my review, (but might add some to my profile pictures), I thought I would give a thought from each page and help you visualize. This is telling you what is in the book, so best if you stop now and just go look at the book. But if you want to continue -

Cover page with picture of girl hugging her dog as they look away
Picking yellow flowers in a big field with the show more wind blowing some and family waiting in the background
Running to take the flower back
Hole in the ground, daddy holding a bundle to put in the hole, girl holding mama
Putting flowers on a little mound
Driving away with canoe on top of the car, and girl looking back to the mound with the flowers on it while a beautiful shoreline can be seen in the background
Family sets up camp by the shore, other families s play with their dog further away, girl is loading a bucket up with pretty stones
Getting darker, girl throwing stones (maybe couldn't find one good enough for Sascha?)
Golden ball of light plummeting through space
Blasts into the earth
Big Fragments working their way up past the dinosaurs
Big yellow rock spire poking up
Dark hand feeling the stone
4 people to move the big slab up a hill using logs as wheels (with a dog in the picture watching)
Rock standing tall in its own stone hedge, but falling over time, then carted off by someone much later
Big rock carved with symbols and raised to be part of a civilized city
Fighting with sword and shield and a big section of the rock taken away by ship
Rock carved into a block for another civilizations city
Put into a section of a huge Buddha statue
People on horseback with swords raised
Rock carted away by an elephant and then on to a sampan boat
Placed as a linchpin stone section in the a stone bridge with pagoda buildings in the background
Bridge crumbled with stone section fallen
Stone reached for by man with a Siamese cat
Chop chop to make dragon stature carved of stone
Sold to go far away on a sailing Junk
Sold to be home in a Polynesian home
But pirates come - when a dog is asleep
Pirates row out with their yellow stone art prize, while the dog barks and people with lanterns peer on
Sea is rough, pitches back and forth
Pirate reaching, but golden dragon pitched off ship
Sinking
Dragon breaks with currents, tumbles, worn down to a stone
Yellow stone seen in the lapping waves
Seems to glow in the waning light
Dark hand reaches down
Holding the golden stone
Rubbing
Holding it to her head as the stars come out
Treasured stone on a mound while children go to play

Your imagination can paint a picture in your mind of the pages but it won't do it justice. The cities representing the different civilizations are amazing. The beach with the girl is out of the Pacific Northwest is amazing. For a book with no words, it is amazing. show less

great wordless book, could be great for a writing lesson on the power of words or a great class project to create the narrative together.

This was a very inspiring book, although some the art illustration was base on how heritage, culture and diversity play a daily role in the today society. However, with the lost of her dog she has to regain her mental and emotional status back active.