At The Barnes & Noble Book Blog she tagged five top books for whiny kids, including:Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, by William SteigRead about the other entries on the list.
Most of us are familiar with this haunting classic—the tale of a little donkey named Sylvester who finds a magic pebble that grants wishes. What starts as an exciting, fantastical tale—with Sylvester wishing for sunshine and warts removed—quickly turns dark when he’s confronted by a hungry lion and accidentally wishes to become a rock. Which he does.
From there the story continues with Sylvester as a giant, mute boulder in a field all alone. The seasons change, his parents grieve what they assume is his death, and Sylvester is trapped, cold and hopeless, while coyotes howl and search parties give up.
Thankfully, his parents finally have a picnic on this boulder and Sylvester comes back to life, but by then, most of us readers are so traumatized we pledge to NEVER wish for anything again.
This one teaches kids to be happy with what they have. And also to never pick up a rock.
--Marshal Zeringue
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