Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

by William Steig

One rainy day, Sylvester finds a magic pebble that can make wishes come true. But when a lion frightens him on his way home, Sylvester makes a wish that brings unexpected results. How Sylvester is eventually reunited with his loving family and restored to his own donkey self makes a story that is beautifully tender and perfectly joyful.

Illustrated with William Steig's glowing pictures, this winner of the 1970 Caldecott Medal is a modern classic beloved by children everywhere. Now reissued to celebrate the discovery of the original artwork, this deluxe edition contains painstakingly careful color corrections made from those watercolor originals - the color you'll see within this book is as Mr. Steig had originally intended it to be.

By following this classic story of a young donkey and his difficult foray with a magic pebble, children learn to be careful what they wish for and to think before they speak. When Sylvester first finds the beautiful red pebble, kids will be entranced with its ability to grant wishes, however, when Sylvester wishes he were a rock to escape the hungry lion, they will soon learn that having the opportunity to have all your wishes come true is not always a good thing. The resulting story is emotional as Sylvester's parents search for him and Sylvester begins to accept his fate to live forever as a rock. But as many children's books do, the story has a happy ending when Sylvester is finally able to become himself again and reunite with his family!

Driving home the importance of family, this story is a great reminder for children to not wander too far from home and to remember that family always cares for one another. The watercolor illustrations perfectly capture the emotions of the story, making it easy for children to relate and feel sympathy for the donkey family.

The image of Sylvester snuggling with the mama and papa donkey made the day of the little girl I nanny for. Emily was thrilled to see the family reunited. We talked about what she would wish for if she had the opportunity to make a wish and she decided that she wanted a kitty.

--Abby

My niece Emily, and I started reading this book when she was four years-old. Initially, she was most interested in the pictures. She particularly loved the nighttime scene spread over two pages. She marveled at the sky filled with stars, and even paused the reading to make a wish on the shooting star she found. Every time we read this, I pause and ask Emily what she would wish for if she found a magic pebble. Her answers have ranged from "A ton of ice cream" to "A little sister." My favorite answer she gave, however, was "for my family to be happy forever."

--Audra Rundle