Author: William Steig
Title: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
Illustrator: William Steig
Publisher: The Trumpet Club
Year: 1969
Genre: Caldecott
Format: Softcover
Reading Level: Assisted, emergent reader
Interest level: Early elementary
Topics: magic, donkey, loneliness, adventure, happiness
Summary: Sylvester liked to collect pebbles. One day, during a vacation, he went out and came across a flaming red, shiny, and perfectly round pebble that was quite like a marble. As he was looking at it, it began to rain. He said to himself, "I wish it would stop raining," and it did. What a special guy he was to have this magic pebble! Now have can have anything he wants, anyone could have anything they want. He set off to go home to show his father and mother. On his way he came over a hill to find a hungry lion. He could have wished for anything, to be home with his family, for the lion to disappear, but he was so scared that he wished to be a rock. The lion went away and Sylvester wished that he was himself again. It didn't work. He wasn't holding the rock! So he sat there on top of the hill feeling sad and hopeless. Back at home his parents began to worry. They asked everyone in town if they had seen him but they all said they hadn't. They even sent out the dogs to smell for him. After a month of looking for him nothing showed up. Fall and winter passed. When spring came, his father and mother decided to have a picnic to cheer up. They found a nice rock and laid out their lunch. His father looked down and saw the red pebble Sylvester had dropped. He put it on the rock because he thought of how much Sylvester would have liked it. Since it was on Sylvester he thought, "I wish I were myself again!" And he was!
Extension Activity: Ask the kids to share what they would do if they had a magic pebble. What would they wish for? Would they do good with it? What if it got into the wrong hands? Have them draw a picture of an adventure they would have with their magic pebble. Have them bring in a good sized rock and have them decorate it.
