A Stone Sat Still

by Brendan Wenzel (Illustrator)

Overview

In this moving companion to the Caldecott Honor–winning They All Saw a Cat, Brendan Wenzel tells the story of a seemingly ordinary stone. But it isn't just a stone—to the animals that use it, it's a resting place, a kitchen, a safe haven...even an entire world. With stunning illustrations in cut paper, pencil, collage, and paint, and soothing rhythms that invite reading aloud, A Stone Sat Still is a gorgeous exploration of perspective, perception, sensory experience, color, size, function, and time, with an underlying environmental message that is timely and poignant. Once again Wenzel shows himself to be a master of the picture book form.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452179131
Publisher:	Chronicle Books
Publication date:	08/27/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	56
Lexile:	NP (what's this?)
File size:	16 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Brendan Wenzel is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator based in upstate New York. He wrote Hello Hello and They All Saw a Cat, which was the recipient of a Caldecott Honor. He is a proud collaborator with groups working to protect and conserve wild places and creatures.

Editorial Reviews

…profound and poetic…The stone itself, the refrain goes, "was as it was where it was in the world," even as eons pass. The playful, smoky and sinuous art seems eternal, too.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo

★ 05/13/2019

As in They All Saw a Cat, Wenzel’s poem focuses on how point of view affects experience. This time, his subject is a humble stone: “A stone sat still/ with the water, grass, and dirt,/ and it was as it was/ where it was in the world.” In each spread or vignette, a different wild creature encounters the round rock. A wide-eyed chipmunk perches on it as the sun casts it in shadow (“and the stone was dark”); at night, an owl peers at it lit by the moon (“and the stone was bright”). After a gull breaks a clam on its surface (“and the stone was loud”), a snake sunbathes there (“and the stone was quiet”). Animals witness it turning different seasonal hues and encounter it variably as smooth and rough, large and small, “a blink” and “an age.” Alert readers will notice that the water beneath the stone rises as the pages turn—eventually, great waves overtake it in spreads that reveal a vast expanse of silvery water. But the stone isn’t gone: under the waves, it “sits still in the world,” a small snail upon it. “Have you ever seen such a place?” Wenzel asks. Look closely, his words say: even the most seemingly insignificant bits of Earth offer splendor. The wonderful mixed-media creatures and their encounters entertain, while bigger ideas suggest all kinds of conversations about perception and perspective, wildlife and habitat, local and global change, and eternity and evanescence. Ages 3–5. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"Profound and poetic." — The New York Times Book Review

“Wenzel scores another hit with this engaging and thought-provoking [book] . . . Stunning.”— School Library Journal

"The Caldecott Honor&ndashwinning author&ndashillustator of They All Saw a Cat is a master at transforming the quotidian into the incredible. His latest explores the boundlessness of a single stone’s existence." — BookPage

"A powerful kaleidoscope of nature, A Stone Sat Still is stunning." - Shelf Awareness, starred review

“The wonderful mixed-media creatures and their encounters entertain, while bigger ideas suggest all kinds of conversations about perception and perspective, wildlife and habitat, local and global change, and eternity and evanescence.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Awe-inspiring.” — Booklist, starred review

From the Publisher

★ 08/01/2019

K-Gr 4—Wenzel scores another hit with this engaging and though-provoking companion to They All Saw a Cat. "A stone sat still/with the water, grass, and dirt/and it was as it was/where it was in the world." Lyrical text, stunning mixed-media artwork, and cleverly shifting perspectives reveal how this object is at once static and ever-changing, predictable yet filled with possibility, seemingly eternal yet somehow vulnerable. The stone is "dark" when swathed in shadow, and "bright" when bathed in moonlight. It's "loud" when a seagull uses it to break apart a clam, and "quiet" when a snake sits curled atop; "rough" (compared to a slug) and "smooth" (compared to a porcupine); a "pebble" to a moose, and a "hill" to a tiny insect. As various animals discover, the stone is "a danger," "a haven,' "a story," "a stage," and so much more. Detail-packed illustrations work closely with the text to eloquently convey this sedentary stone's role in its surrounding biome. Observant readers will notice that the water levels surrounding the stone are rising, which becomes first "an island," then "a wave," then "a memory" as it disappears beneath the surface, continuing to sit "still in the world" surrounded by seaweed and sea creatures. VERDICT Showcasing at-a-glimpse activities of an array of animals, this book offers small stories to pore over as well as bigger ideas to ponder, including the influence of viewpoint, the relationship between wildlife and habitat, the impact of environmental issues, and the vagaries of time.—Joy Fleishhacker, Pikes Peak Library District, Colorado Springs

School Library Journal

2019-05-26
As with Wenzel's Caldecott Honor-winning They All Saw a Cat (2016), this picture book plays with perspective to examine characteristics of one object—a stone—as it is experienced by a multitude of creatures.

When a sea gull perches atop the stone to crack open a clam, it is "loud." When a snake curls upon it to rest in the sun, it is "quiet." But no matter what, the stone "was as it was / where it was in the world." Wenzel's mixed-media illustrations use a muted color palette well suited to this presentation of the natural world. Readers experience the stone's sensory qualities through the text and its relationship with slightly anthropomorphized animals. In the dark, the stone is "a feel," as curious-looking raccoons know it through their paws, while it's "a smell," lit up in vibrant colors, to a hunting coyote, who sniffs the scents of the creatures who have previously passed. The book's only misstep is the addition of three unnecessary spreads at the end that directly ask readers if they've "ever known such a place?" Coming as they do after text that reads, "and the stone was always," these spreads cannot help but feel anticlimactic.

A gentle celebration of sameness and change. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews