Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

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Summary: A great tale of wishes.
Review: It's a Caldecott Medal book that's been made into film; the story is about being happy with what you have. Sylvester Duncan (a humanized donkey), finds a shiny, red, magic pebble, that changes his life. He and his family learn to be careful when making wishes. It is a suitable book for early and middle elementary children, one that middle elementary students might enjoy reading independently. The soft painted pictures are visually pleasing and help to illustrate the story. They are equally as effective in conveying the story as the words themselves. Teachers might use this book to talk to students about contentment, happiness, hope and magic. A nice story!

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Summary: My granddaughters adore this book!
Review: My granddaughters, now ages 7 and 9, have adored this book for 3 or 4 years. Something some of you may not remember or know: when it was first published, there was some controversy about the illustrations. Why? Well, all the characters in the story are animals, and the police were portrayed as PIGS. (Those of you who remember the 60s-70s may remember this less-than-affectionate term for our police officers.) I remember this well because I was a children's librarian at the time. OF COURSE I read the book to the kids! And they loved it! I'm sure Mr. Steig had no intention of making a disparaging political statement! The story is thrilling for little ones - they worry how on earth Sylvester will get that pebble back and be reunited with his parents. It's a very reassuring, affirmative statement about the love of family (and being careful what you wish for).

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Summary: One of the best children's books!
Review: Our children, ages 2 and 5, have been obsessed with this book. We have enjoyed it thoroughly, too. Mr. Steig's writing captures the internal experiences and emotions of the characters in a way that few books for children do. The writing encourages children to consider what it would be like to be trapped, lost, or separated from their parents, and the joy of reunion.

It also has some of the greatest lines in literature: "The warmth of his own mother sitting on him woke Sylvester up from his deep winter sleep." How can you beat that?

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Summary: I loved this as a kid
Review: Someone wrote that this book is too depressing. I beg to differ.

I'm not a professional child psychologist, but looking back on my own experience, and how much I loved this book as a child, I think children have very powerful feelings all the time, including longing and sadness. It's comforting to see those feelings described and reflected outside yourself. If adults act like the whole world is happy-happy all the time, it can feel very lonely and isolating when you have other feelings. I would venture to guess that empathizing with characters in stories helps children develop a sense of connection between their own feelings and other people's feelings. This connection makes us feel less lonely and also allows us to be genuinely caring toward others.

I can still see, in my mind's eye, the picture of Sylvester the Rock under a blanket of snow, and feel the almost unbearable empathy that I felt for him when I read this book as a child. But it was a good feeling to feel such profound emotions. It was not unpleasant--it was very real, alive, and human--it made me feel connected with the world. And it was a safe place to feel these emotions, because I knew how the story ended, I knew everything would be okay.

I loved this book very much. I wonder if I still have it...

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Summary: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
Review: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble is a meaningful story about a donkey named Sylvester Duncan. On a mysterious day, Sylvester found a magic pebble and realized that the special pebble would grant him any wish. Suddenly he sees a lion, and in a panick, out of all the things he could have wished for, he wished to turn into a rock. Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Duncan were frantically worried, as Sylvester had not returned home. I enjoyed this story, as it makes the reader aware of the love and joy families should share, and to always be careful for what you wish for.

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Summary: If Wishes Were Things, Where Would We Be?
Review: 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. The rain stopped so fast, "It CEASED." "It struck him that magic must be at work . . . ." He "guessed that the magic must be in the . . . pebble."

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 without thinking. "I wish I were a rock." 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.

"Mr. Duncan put the magic pebble in an iron safe." "Some day they might want to use it, but really, for now, what more could they wish for?"

"They had all they wanted."

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!

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Summary: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
Review: Sylvester and The Magic Pebble, William Steig, Aladdin Library

This is a great, fictional, picture book. Sylvester the donkey has always loved collecting pebbles. One time he found a pebble that could grant wishes. On a rainy day when he was on his way home he saw a lion. He made a rational wish to be a rock. The thing is, once he was a rock he couldn't move to reach the pebble and wish himself back to normal. Read about Sylvester's life as a rock and what happens on the day his parents decide to go for a picnic.

The main character, in this book is Sylvester. He is a young, brown donkey, with pointy ears and a wart on his left forelock, (until he wished it away). He is an only child and is friends with all the colts and kittens, and other young animals. Sylvester seems so like a human that in some parts of the book you forget he is a donkey. The other two important characters are Mrs. and Mr. Duncan. They are like normal people. The father reads the newspaper and the mother knits while Sylvester looks at his pebble collection. They were heartbroken when Sylvester didn't come home from playing outside. Just like regular parents when they lose their child.

This is a great book and children and adults of all ages will enjoy it. The pictures are wonderful and help to explain the story to younger children. If you are looking for a good, funny, family picture book this is a great one. I loved this book because it was about something most people would never think of writing about. It's funny and almost sad in some places. I encourage everyone to read this book once, if not more.

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Summary: My all-time favorite children's book
Review: Sylvester can't be beat. The story is so good, even after 30 years, that I buy it for every child I know. The illustrations are beautiful, the colors vivid. The story perfectly piques the interest of a small child, and Sylvester's predicament is tragic--but funny. Perfect suspense. Right down to the fact that in this barnyard world, the police are pigs. Extremely cute and amusing.

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Summary: Be Careful What You Wish For...
Review: Sylvester Duncan, a nice little donkey who lives with his mother and father collects pebbles of interesting shapes and colors. One rainy day, he finds a most remarkable bright red, shiny, round pebble on Strawberry Hill and as he examines it, feeling the cold rain on his back, he wishes it would stop raining. And it does. In the blink of an eye, the rain is gone and the sun is shining. Sylvester realizes that he has found a magic pebble, one that grants wishes and he begins to think of all the wonderful things he and his family and friends can wish for to make their lives happier. But at that moment, he looks up and sees a hungry lion looking at him and panics. Instead of wishing that the lion would disappear, he wishes he were a rock. And he becomes a rock. Unfortunately, the magic pebble is lying on the ground next to him, not on him and so even though he wishes and wishes that he were back to his old self again, nothing happens. As summer turns to fall, fall turns to winter and winter to spring, poor Sylvester, the rock, is stuck up on Strawberry Hill, missing his parents and trying to find a way back to his old self..... Award winning author and illustrator, William Steig, has written a charming and tender story about the meaning of true happiness, that's perfect for youngsters 4-8. In his very gentle way, he lets children discover that it's not always what you want that will make you happy, but what you already have. This simple, magical text, coupled with his wonderfully expressive cartoon-like artwork will capture children's imaginations as they wait to see if Sylvester will ever find a way to make his most important wish come true, to turn back into his old donkey self and be with his family. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble is sure to become a classic and is a story your kids will want to read again and again.

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Summary: timeless
Review: Sylvester is a donkey with the odd hobby, for a donkey anyway, of "collecting pebbles of unusual shape and color." This pastime gets him in
trouble one day when he finds a magic red pebble that grants wishes :

'What a lucky day this is!' thought Sylvester.  'From now on I can have anything I want.'

Sadly, a lion comes along and Sylvester unthinkingly says : "I wish I were a rock."

His wish is granted, but he is no longer able to grasp the pebble and so can not wish himself back to donkeyhood. His parents search
desperately for him, until one day they actually picnic upon the boulder he has become. Happily, they pick up the pebble and order is
restored. And, despite the awesome power of the pebble they lock it away in a safe :

Some day they might want to use it, but really, for now, what more could they wish for?  They had all that they wanted.

The story is that simple and the drawings too are pretty basic, though charming. The real beauty of the tale lies in the simple message that it
is not "things" that will make us happy, but the comforts of family and home.

In his Caldecott Award acceptance speech, William Steig revealed his debt to an earlier classic :

It is very likely that Sylvester became a rock and then again a live donkey because I had once been so deeply impressed with Pinocchio's
longing to have his spirit encased in flesh instead of in wood.

It is altogether fitting that Steig's story has become a classic in its own right.

GRADE : A