Picture Books

In Stone Soup, three hungry and tired soldiers are making their way home from war. On the way, they see a village and decide to ask for some food and a place to sleep. The peasants see them coming and quickly hide their food. When the soldiers ask, they all make up excuses. The soldiers then come up with the idea of stone soup. Stones can make a delicious soup, but it would taste much better if only there was some carrots, beef, barley, and more…

I remember reading Stone Soup when I was younger and loving it. We even made stone soup in kindergarten class. The story line is great. It teaches imagination, sharing, and cunning innovation. The pictures may not appeal as much to the younger audience, because it is mainly black, white, and orange.  Additionally, it is a little lengthy, but I think the story line will be able to keep a child’s attention.

Title: Stone Soup

Author: Marcia Brown

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: 1975

ISBN: 9780684922966

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Three Questions is based on a Leo Tolstoy novel. A young boy named Nikolai believed that if he could find the answers to his three questions, he would always know what to do in order to be a good person. "When is the best time to do things? Who is the most important one? What is the right thing to do?" He begins by asking his friends, the heron, monkey, and dog, whose answers to do not satisfy Nikolai. Nikolai decides that he must ask Leo, an old wise turtle. While visiting Leo, he helps Leo with his garden and ends up rescuing an injured panda and her cub, and in so doing, finds the answers he seeks.

I found The Three Questions very inspiring and thought provoking. It may interest young children with its animal characters and illustrations, but I think it will benefit older children and adults more. The questions that Nikolai has are difficult to answer, but at the same time, simple. I find that the soft watercolor illustrations go very well with the story. The colors are calming throughout the book, except for the dark colors used to depict the storm.

Title: The Three Questions

Author: John J. Muth

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Publication Date: 2002

ISBN: 9780439199964

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The Wolf Who Cried Boy takes an old tale and reverses it. Little Wolf is tired of eating the same foods every day and wishes his mother could make his favorite dinner, a boy. Father Wolf tells him that it is rare to find boys around, but promises that if Little Wolf can find one, they will catch the boy and cook him for Little Wolf. On his way home from school, he sniffs the air and smells the same old food, so he decides to play a trick. He tells his parents that he found a boy in the woods, and his parents look everywhere for the boy. When they come home, they find their dinner ruined and end up eating snacks. Little Wolf decides to do the same thing the next day. However, the next night Father Wolf hears about Little Wolf’s plan and decides to ignore his tricks. Unfortunately, the next day a Boy Scout troop comes by, but no one believes him. One mischievous boy manages to sneak in and out of his house before Father Wolf looks up. In the end, Little Wolf continues to eat the same old foods and ends up enjoying them.

The Wolf Who Cried Boy was a great twist on a classic fable. The story line was fun with witty food names such as “sloppy does,” “chocolate moose,” and “boys-and-berry pie.” The pictures were fantastic with a lot of detail. Each pencil stroke is visible, especially in the fur of the wolves. Even though I knew what was going to happen, it still captured my attention and kept me interested by throwing in little twists.

Title: The Wolf Who Cried Boy

Author: Bob Hartman

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Publication Date: 2002

ISBN: 9780399235788

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars