Stone Soup

   Stone Soup

    Retold by Heather Forest

Grades:K-3

Genre: Traditional Literature

                I recently read “Stone Soup” what was retold by Heather Forest and illustrated by Susan Gaber. “Stone Soup” is a popular European folktale that has been both retold and told for centuries.  This tale has all the evidence of a traditional literature. The language indicates that it is folktale. It starts off the first page by saying “There once was a” and “one day”.  The characters were described right off the bat as travelers who had torn and tatted clothes. The conflict was clearly identified on the second page, it was that the travelers were hungry and no one would share any food with them. The plot was uncluttered we knew what the conflict was and the two travelers did not waste any time trying to a solution. After being told no by the whole town when asking for food the travelers decided that if there was no food in the village then the people are in greater need of food then they are, they then decided to solve this by making stone soup.  The travelers shouted that they were master cooks and that they needed a big black pot. Soon enough a man came with a big black pot. The two travelers filled the pot with water and built a fire. This attracted the townspeople.  The travelers told them that they were making a unusual soup and that it needed a special ingredient. One of them put a stone in the pot and said if only we had a carrot. A little girl said that she had one. The travelers then listed off other ingredients that they needed and soon enough the townspeople all brought a little of everything and bowls. Everyone was impressed that the soup was good because it was made out of a stone. One of the travelers said and a magical ingredient, sharing. The two travelers ended up tricking the whole town into sharing.

                The illustrations in this retelling made the story even better. The illustrated used bright colors that engaged the reader. The details in the pictures were also really great. The two travelers were exactly how the reader would picture them to be based on their description. The illustrations also told the story; even a child who was struggling with reading could see the story unfold.

The five literary elements are also seen throughout this folk tale. The characters were the two travelers and the townspeople. The setting was one day in a tiny village in the mountains. The problem is clearly identified the two travelers are hungry and the town with not share food. They decide to make their magical stone soup. Everyone ends up bringing something to add and as a result they all get to eat. The theme of this tale is sharing. The literary elements are clearing identified so the students would be able to easily point them out.

                Overall I thought “Stone Soup” was a great example of traditional literature in my classroom library. I think that the students would like the story because of the illustrations and out of curiosity of what the magical ingredient of the soup was. It was also neat because Susan Gaber put the recipe for stone soup in the back of her book. The five literary elements are also seen throughout this folk tale. It covers the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework Standards of key ideas and details and integration of knowledge and ideas.