The Real Story of Stone Soup (review)

Compestine takes a different tack with this retelling of the popular folktale, linking it to a traditional dish in southeastern China. According to culinary folklore, a fisherman who forgot to bring a pot to cook his lunch instead dug a hole in the ground, filled it with water, heated rocks in a fire, and then added the hot rocks to the hole to heat the mix. This fictionalized folktale builds upon this legend in a slyly humorous tale of a not-too-wise uncle whose laziness and poor observation skills lead him to believe that the stones themselves give the soup its flavor. The self-important uncle narrates, telling of his outing with the three Chang brothers. Because they have no pot to cook their lunch, the boys set about digging a hole, heating the rocks, and preparing the water for what they promise will be a delicious stone soup. What the uncle does not notice, however, is the boys adding fish, wild vegetables, and eggs to the mix. The soup is indeed delicious, and thereafter the uncle carries the rocks everywhere with him and proclaims the miracle of stone soup. This entertaining variant is loaded with subtle visual and verbal humor; audiences will get a particular kick out of catching what the uncle is missing. Jorisch's line-and-watercolor illustrations depict a lush rural China, with monkeys in the trees and coolie hats on the brothers' heads. The visuals are laced with humor throughout, not just in their revealing of the boys' secret; the Chang brothers' expressions are especially successful in providing hints about the uncle's character, while the uncle's brash posturings are giveaways in their own right. The play between the text, conveying the uncle's perspective, and the illustrations, depicting the other side of the story, makes a game of the contradictory messages that will add to the pleasures of this witty retelling. A recipe for egg drop stone soup is included.