Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
---|---|---|
Searching... McMinnville Public Library | Daly | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Newberg Public Library | MORE WORDS DALY | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
The stonemason Sivu can create extraordinary things out of rock. But he is poor, and as time goes by he becomes bitter and envious. If only he could be rich and powerful -- surely then he would be happy?
When Sivu's wish is mysteriously granted six times, however, transforming him by turn into a rich businessman, the mayor, the sun, a rain cloud, and a great rock, he learns that sometimes people have the most power just by being themselves. Using clear, elegant storytelling and exquisite illustrations, Jude Daly translates the timeless Taoist story of The Stonecutter to a modern-day African setting, conveying a timeless message for our own age.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-A stunningly illustrated retelling of a Taoist tale from ancient China. Sivu is a talented stonecutter. People are amazed at what he can make from simple rocks. But he doesn't make much money from his craft and soon becomes bitter. While carving an elegant statue for a rich man, he wishes that he could be that rich man and suddenly, he becomes him. However, this does not satisfy him; his wishes for more power escalate, until everyone hates him. When his final wish leaves him as immovable as the earth, he learns a valuable lesson about humility. Daly's folk-style illustrations convey a magical land of desert, ocean, and exotic animals. The exaggerated human figures are stylized and captivating. Simple landscapes underscore a towering Sivu as he becomes the elements of sun, rain, wind, and eventually rock. The tale is a didactic one-be careful what you wish for-and Sivu learns his lesson. An excellent addition to a unit on Eastern philosophy, literature, or religion.-C. J. Connor, Campbell County Public Library, Cold Spring, KY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Daly retells the Taoist tale of Sivu, a stonecutter whose wishes to become increasingly powerful are swiftly granted. Watching jealously, the fickle Sivu wishes to become a businessman, the mayor, the sun, the rain (which blocks the sun), the wind (which blows away the rain clouds), and finally a piece of stone-whereupon he finds himself being hammered on by a stonecutter. Though the story is from ancient China, Daly (To Everything There Is a Season) sets it in modern Africa. Sivu and the people who surround him have an assortment of white and brown faces, cars speed along the highway, and the mayor rides in a white limousine. Spare acrylics are warmed by African oranges, blues, and earth tones. Lighthearted at the start ("What a life!" Daly describes Sivu's career in business. "With the snap of his fingers... he would declare that a shipment of wool was too woolly"), the storytelling darkens progressively ("Soon the country was gripped by drought," says Daly, after Sivu becomes the sun, "and everybody cursed him"). A stark portrait of the futility of envy. Ages 6-10. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
An ancient Chinese Taoist parable, "The Stone Cutter," is here translated to a contemporary setting, one guesses South Africa. Sivu, a talented yet underpaid stonemason, is discontented with his lot. One day, while working on a statue for a wealthy businessman, Sivu finds himself envying the other man's power and wishes that he could be him. "Suddenly, mysteriously, and to his great surprise, he WAS the businessman. What a life!" The pattern is repeated as Sivu next envies and then wishes to be the mayor, the sun, a rain cloud, and the wind. Each time, he misuses his power; each time, he makes people hate him; each time, he longs for even greater power. Finally, he wishes to be an enormous rock, convinced that it is the most powerful thing of all (as the wind, he is unable to budge it); when his wish comes true, he hears the sounds of hammer and chisel at his base and realizes that he is being carved -- by a stone cutter such as he once was. Daly's stylized art, in a rich, clear palette, is quietly stunning, revealing the beauty both in harsh landscapes and mundane streetscapes. Stretch limos, street beggars, and satellite dishes share illustrative space with elephants, cattle, savannas, and palm trees. Repetition in both text (as quoted above, for example) and art (in every iteration, Sivu wears the same hat) helps make the story easy to follow, and the modern embellish-ments never obscure its meaning. martha v. parravano (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Daly gives her version of the oft-retold "Stonecutter" a contemporary settingdressing small figures in modern clothes and placing them as often as not against urban backdrops. Discontented with the small income he earns from carving huge and widely admired lions and other animals, Sivu wishes to be a rich merchant. Suddenly, he is just that...but his discontent only grows, and with successive wishes he becomes the Mayor, the Sun (looming with a smirk over a land that quickly becomes drought stricken), a rain cloud, the wind and finally a mass of stone. Being unrestrained and insensitive in all guises, though, he ends up being more hated than respected. Unlike Gerald McDermott (1975), Demi (1995), Jon J Muth (2009) and other retellers, the author lets readers draw their own conclusions by electing to end with Sivu feeling his rocky self being cut by another carver but not yet figuring out the implicit Lesson. His lack of self-understanding adds another thought-provoking element to a tale identified (by the author, at leastothers have different ideas) as Taoist. (afterword) (Picture book/folktale. 6-8) ]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
With a contemporary setting and a multiracial cast typical of Daly's native Cape Town, the author-illustrator retells a beautiful ancient Taoist tale of a man who envies those with power until he discovers the true power he finds in making art. Sivu is a stonecutter who can coax a vibrant animal or person out of lifeless rock, but he is bitter and disappointed that he makes so little money. Magically, his wishes to be wealthy and important are granted, but when he becomes both a businessman and a mayor, he turns ugly and mean, and everyone hates him. Then he gets his wishes to be the sun, the rain, and the wind, and he can move everything, except a huge rock, bigger and more powerful than anything else on earth. Daly closes with Sivu getting his comeuppance. The bright, unframed, folk art-style acrylic paintings contrast Sivu as a powermonger with the forces of the universe. Young people will enjoy the drama caused by Sivu's jealousy as well as the surprising end and its celebration of art.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2010 Booklist