Kinder Book Club: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
William Steig’s beautiful fairytale Sylvester and the Magic Pebble captures the imagination even as it teaches young children what truly matters.
We stumbled across this gem at a library. Miss Kindergarten is somewhat obsessed with Caldecott Medal winners. I’m fairly sure that medal is the only reason we found ourselves jealously watching Sylvester discover a wish-granting pebble.
Page one of this book already had us talking. What would you wish for if you found that magic pebble?
Then, sadly, a crabby lion startles Sylvester into wishing he were a rock. Of all the ways to wish for safety, Sylvester chose one that prevented him from being himself. He sat, a mere rock on a hill, distraught and powerless while his parents searched for him, also distraught and powerless, for an entire year.
In the end the little family reunites, when luck and a little magic turn Sylvester back into a donkey. So happy to have each other, the little family locks the magic pebble away for safekeeping. At the moment, their wishes have been granted.
This story is so captivating. The separation of Sylvester and his parents was fairly upsetting on our first reading, and its ultimate resolution bright smiles to Miss Kindergarten and Little Miss Three. The following discussion questions came up naturally the first time, and the kids began to ask them of each other when we reread the book.
- How do you think Sylvester felt alone on the hill all that time?
- How do you think his parents felt?
- Who helped Sylvester’s parents look for him?
- Why did the family lock away the pebble instead of making more wishes?
- Do you think they will use the magic pebble again someday?
- What do you think they’ll wish for?
This was a hard book to return, and one we’ll certainly revisit. Of all the wishes in the world, having our loved ones close by is the only one that really matters.
