A retelling of the Taoist story The Stone Cutter for young readers. An excellent story for discussing themes of power and wealth, contentment, desire, and more. ( )

Colorful photos follow an easily accessible retelling of a Taoist fable. ( )

This is a Taoist tale set in modern times. The story is very predictable, but that did not make it any less appealing to my first grader. The message being that you should be happy with who you are and not envy others. ( )

A stonemason named Sivu creates masterpieces - but is embittered by his lack of wealth and power. Suddenly, his wishes come true and he is the businessman he envies...then the mayor...then the sun...then a rain cloud...then the wind...then a rock...and he realizes it is the stonemason who is the most powerful. The brief note at the end says this is based on a Taoist tale "The Stone Cutter." I know very little about Taoist philosophy, so I suppose it is coming from a completely different culture that makes this story confusing to me. In each more powerful incarnation of Sivu, he makes more and more people miserable and they curse him for his cruelty and power. But...at what point did he decide to abuse his new power? Why couldn't he have used it to help? The message of the story seems to be twofold; that no matter how lowly, everyone has power over something, but also that power = oppression. There were a couple funny bits, as when as a businessman "he would declare that a shipment of wool was too woolly." I wouldn't suggest this unless you have a segment of patrons familiar with Taoist and/or Eastern philosophy. Unless I'm generalizing and the themes I see aren't Taoist, just what I saw in the story. Borrowed from library.