Stone Soup by Jon Muth

In Jon Muth’s third person retelling of Stone Soup three monks travel in hopes of finding the key to happiness and stumble upon a weathered village where each villager isolates themselves from another. In the making of stone soup, a little girl’s curiosity brings the community out to lend a helping hand in the process. Upon the monk’s departure the villagers are once again united and discover happiness comes from sharing. This trickery folklore blends Buddhism with an Eastern culture, illustrated by the choosing of three monks versus soldiers of previous retellings and each represent particular Chinese deities. Muth’s version stresses the importance of generosity whereas other tellings have travelers seeking personal gain.

Muth portrays the Chinese culture through the use of watercolor. Vibrant yellow dresses the little girl with importance and strategic placement on each page symbolizing the significance of her role in unification. The illustrations strongly follow the community’s development of unity; in the beginning each character is in individual pictures, the middle a few villagers are illustrated together and in closing artwork the entire village gathers to say farewell. The color of gray symbolizes a sense of balance and calamity. The monks dressed in all gray are seen as at peace along side the stacking of stones that are the basis for the village’s feast. Stone Soup blends design and passage to effectively communicate the value of community and kindness.

Muth, Jon. Stone Soup. New York: Scholastic Press, 2003.