Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Steig, William. 1969. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. Ill. by William Steig. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0-671-66154-X

PLOT SUMMARY

Sylvester Duncan, a young donkey, finds a red pebble when he is playing outside.  Sylvester collects pretty pebbles and this red one is truly special.  When he picks up the pebble, Sylvester wishes that it would stop raining and :poof: the rain stopped. After a few experiments, Sylvester realizes that whilst holding his magic pebble, any wish he dreams up comes true.  Unfortunately, an unwise wish is made and Sylvester finds himself in quite a situation.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

William Steig's writing creates a great read-aloud book that allows an opportunity to talk with a child about the power of wishes and the love of a family.  The story outlines the danger of wishing wishes and the possibility of negative outcomes.  The writing is descriptive and allows the reader an inside view of the emotions that the characters feel.  However, I'm surprised that this book has such a large following. As an adult, I can't get around the anguished feelings that the parents experienced, despite the happy ending.  From a child's eyes, I can understand the feeling of security in the book's message that a family's love is all that is needed.   Sylvester and the Magic Pebble continues to be a favorite for children throughout the years, so perhaps I need to get in touch with my childhood-roots once more!

The illustrations in the book are painted and then outlined in bold lines.  Most pages have one larger picture, with the text underneath. Occasionally Steig puts a smaller picture and moves the text to a spot other than the bottom of the page. This adds to the flow of the story as these illustrations are usually done to signify the passage of time or sequence of events.  The illustrations are done with mostly muted colors, save for the pebble which is bright red and easily spotted within the picture.  Despite the cartoon-like paintings, Steig does an excellent job of using body language and facial expressions to show the emotions of the characters throughout the book.

 

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Winner of Caldecott Medal
100 Best Books of the Century by the National Education Association.

CONNECTIONS

You can find other William Steig books similar to this one, such as:
 Doctor De Soto (Newbery Honor Book) 
Shrek! (Movie series based on this book)
Potch and Polly