Reviews: (by author)

Seeger, Pete and Paul DuBois Jacobs. Some Friends to Feed: The Story of Stone Soup. Illus. Michael Hays. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2005. $16.99

Renowned folksinger and storyteller Pete Seeger teams up with Paul DuBois Jacobs and illustrator Michael Hays to create this latest retelling of the story of Stone Soup. Set amid the hardships of life during the Thirty Years War, the story follows a young soldier who comes to town in search of a meal. Famine has reduced the villagers to starvation and no one, it seems, has any food to spare. Rather than despair of a meal, the soldier calls upon the villagers to join him in making a huge pot of Stone Soup. Ridiculed by the adults, the soldier finds allies among the children who furnish him with a pot and a fine assortment of stones. By the time the pot is filled with water and set to cook, the soldier has chosen the choicest stones and dropped them in. The pot begins to boil, but the soup seems not quite done. Really, says the soldier, it just needs a bit of this and a dab of that. Of course, by the time everyone has contributed a little something there's a fine pot of soup on the fire and everyone settles down to a splendid meal.

The tale loses none of its timeless charm in this new version and retains all the moral weight of the original. As always, it inspires those who have too little to band together and share, making the most of scarce resources through cooperation. Sadly, this message is still as timely today as it was in the 17 th century. On a lighter note, the book is accompanied by both a CD and the sing-along score of a new song for Stone Soup makers: "Some Friends to Feed." Time to get cooking.

- Mark Janssen, March 2006

Back to Reviews R-T