The Stonecutter - Hardcover

PreSchool-Grade 3?A humble stonecutter, dissatisfied with his lot, longs for wealth and power. A helpful angel grants him a series of escalating wishes, but in the end he becomes a stonecutter again?a happy one this time. Although no source is given for the story, Demi's version resembles a tale attributed to the T'ung people, one of China's ethnic minorities, retold by Louise and Yuan Hsi Kuo in Chinese Folk Tales (Celestial Arts, 1976). Early collectors Marie Shedlock and Andrew Lang called it a Japanese story in The Crimson Fairy Book (Peter Smith, 1967). Gerald McDermott's picture-book version, The Stonecutter (Viking, 1975; o.p.), is set in Japan, while Pam Newton's The Stonecutter (Putnam, 1990; o.p.) is set in India. In her familiar, decorative style, Demi arranges tiny, tightly drawn figures and motifs borrowed from Chinese painting on large, double-page spreads. Pretty and formal, this new treatment is a marked contrast to McDermott's vibrant, abstract collages and to Newton's softer paintings, which were inspired by Persian miniatures. Demi's book is for larger collections, where contrasting versions of the same tale will be useful.?Margaret A. Chang, North Adams State College, MA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 5^-8. Based on an old Chinese tale, this is the story of an ambitious stonecutter who dreams of being rich but, after an angel grants his wish, decides he would rather be a governor. The tale continues with the stonecutter's wishing and then realizing the wish he's granted isn't really what he wants. When the succession of wishes eventually leads the stonecutter to become a rock on which stonecutters cut, the man decides that "being a stonecutter is best after all!" The moral is simple enough for youngsters to grasp, and Demi's delicate pen-and-ink drawings, painted in vibrant hues and placed against gold backgrounds, have plenty of intricate details. Combine this offering with any of Demi's many other fine picture books on China to enrich a social studies unit. Lauren Peterson