Citation: Steig, W. (2005). Sylvester and the magic pebble. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers.
Book Summary: Sylvester the donkey finds a magic pebble that will make all his wishes come true as long as he is holding the pebble. He wishes to make the rain stop, the sun to appear back in the sky, and a wart to disappear. Everything is going fine until he encounters a lion on his way home and, in a panic, wishes to be a rock. He turns into a rock and then wishes to be himself again, but nothing happens because he is not holding the magic pebble. His parents begin to worry about him. A long time passes and his parents still have not found him. When they take a picnic to the field where Sylvester is, they find a pebble that he would have loved. They put it on top of the rock. Sylvester wishes to be himself again and he is finally reunited with his parents.
Book Summary: Sylvester the donkey finds a magic pebble that will make all his wishes come true as long as he is holding the pebble. He wishes to make the rain stop, the sun to appear back in the sky, and a wart to disappear. Everything is going fine until he encounters a lion on his way home and, in a panic, wishes to be a rock. He turns into a rock and then wishes to be himself again, but nothing happens because he is not holding the magic pebble. His parents begin to worry about him. A long time passes and his parents still have not found him. When they take a picnic to the field where Sylvester is, they find a pebble that he would have loved. They put it on top of the rock. Sylvester wishes to be himself again and he is finally reunited with his parents.
My Impressions: Children love reading about things that are magic. I have read this book to my students for several years, and it always captures their imagination. Just as they think Sylvester will never figure out a way to change back into a donkey, it happens in the most unlikely way.
Professional Review: My particular choice is William Steig's Sylvester and the Magic Pebble because it is about magic contained within small, overlooked, and undervalued things. One hundred years from now, books in general may be overlooked and undervalued. An encounter with Steig's beguiling tale just might be enough to prompt future nonreaders to take in hand or hoof other long-shut books gathering dust in and around the geodesic dome, and to find out what they are good for.
Marcus, L. S. (2000). [Review of Sylvester and the magic pebble by William Steig]. Horn Book Magazine, 76(6), 652-652. Retrieved from http://www.hbook.com/horn-book-magazine/
Library Uses: This is a great book to use to introduce higher level vocabulary to students. Students could learn dictionary skills by looking up unfamiliar words, or they could practice using context clues to determine the meaning of words.
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