Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

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View books by William Steig.

Stone Love: A Donkey Learns He Loves His Family - Rated
The premise of "Sylvester and the Magic Pebble" is fascinating. Imagine picking up a stone for no other reason than it looked interesting. Such happens to Sylvester, a young donkey filled with familial angst.

As it turns out, the rock allows a wish, but Sylvester's selfish frustration wins out when he runs into a hungry lion, and he wishes he were a rock. He drops the stone, and begins the dreary life of a massive rock in a picnic area.

His parents are distraught. He aches for them, and they for him.

Will Sylvester again know the parental love only his mom and dad can offer after all he has done? Will his parents see again their joyful son?

The end is a happy one.

Every part of the book draws on fantasy, common childhood experiences, with excellent art and writing. William Steig earned his 1970 Caldecott Award on this one. Incidentally, he's also the author of the book, "Shrek!", on which the famous movie series is loosely based upon.

I fully recommend "Sylvester and the Magic Pebble," by William Steig.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

If Wishes Were Things, Where Would We Be? - Rated
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble won the Caldecott Medal as the best illustrated children's story of 1970. The images stand out for their tender renditions of emotion in the faces and bodies of the animals in the illustrations. Nature is rendered in just as malleable a way to emphasize the changes going on in the story.

The story itself is a variation of the familiar theme of the grass being greener on the other side. In typical fashion, that fable theme is carried out here through many trials and tribulations that will help your child appreciate the joys of what otherwise would be consider humdrum. The strength of the story is the way the moral is made more explicit than in most other versions of this theme.

This book will never be forgotten by any child who reads it, and should be enjoyed by most children beginning around age 3. Fascination will tend to dull after age 6.

Sylvester Duncan (a donkey) lived with his parents. His favorite activity was to collect pebbles of unusual shapes and colors. One rainy Saturday during vacation, he was alone when he found a quite extraordinary one. It was "flaming red, shiny, and perfectly round, like a marble." Shivering in the rain, he wished that the sun would come out . . . and it did. He decided there must be magic in the pebble. To find out, he then ran three tests. He started the rain, stopped it again, and got rid of a wart on his left hind fetlock.

Excited, he headed back home.

He ran into a lion. Startled, he made a wish to become a rock without thinking. Well, he succeeded. The lion left.

The only trouble was, the pebble fell away from Sylvester. He could no longer hold it to make more wishes come true. He wished away, but still stayed a rock. It was a very dull occupation.

His parents were frantic, and started a massive search. Even the dogs could do no good because Sylvester smelled like a rock rather than himself. A year passed slowly.

Then through happenstance, the pebble touches Sylvester again. When he wished to be Sylvester again, he changed back in a twinkling!

The Duncan family was delighted to be reunited.

The pebble was locked away for safety, and the family realized that they had everything they needed when they had each other.

As you can see, this story is good for dealing with issues like your child's concerns about losing her or his parents, separation anxiety, the dangers of leaving home, and "magic" based fears. You can provide lots of encouraging reassurance as you read the story, explaining how your child's situation is much different from Sylvester's.

The illustrations pick up on the language in the story, so this book will be one of the easier books for you child to learn to read when he or she is around 5 or 6.

After you finish the story, I suggest that you ask your child what she or he would wish for if a magic pebble came along. Then talk about how one might obtain something just as good or better through your family's own efforts . . . without the benefit of magic. This can help your child appreciate the magic of mind and spirit within each of us to turn worthwhile wishes into reality. You can point out that this method has an advantage. It never turned anyone into a rock by accident!

Touch the magical imagination of your child to create a world of real potential for both of you!

How is Sylvester going to get back to being a normal donkey? - Rated
A children's book for ages 4 to 8 about a donkey named Sylvester who finds a magic pebble which can grant his every wish. Unfortunately, he changes himself into a rock after being freightened by a lion and he can't change himself back without the help from someone else. His family and friends miss him greatly. One has to be very careful when one has unlimited power (or, ability to have one's wishes granted). Many rulers have fallen into that trap! This book won the 1970 Caldecott Medal for best illustrations in a book for children. Children have always loved this story.

Flashback - Rated
This is actually just as much a review of amazon.com as it is of Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. I linked here because of your "cover story" on the author. It has probably been over 20 years since I have read or thought about this book. Amazing how it takes your back in time and recreates that feeling. Thank you!

Be careful what you ask for. - Rated
We all dream about the perfect life and the way it could be 'if only....' How do we know what will make our life better or worse? Now this is a puzzle that could a class a whole week to solve.