Ying Chang Compestine, illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch,
The Real Story of Stone Soup
Dutton Juvenile, 2007.

Ages 4-7

This is one of those glorious picture-books where both the words and the illustrations do the talking and each without the other would be bereft.  After giving a neat, one-sentence résumé of the “old folktale” of stone soup, our narrator here, a rather indolent fisherman, informs us that actually “stone soup was invented here in China, and without any sly tricks”.  He then proceeds to tell us about how he first experienced this amazing, delicious soup for himself: how “those troublesome Chang brothers” listened to river stones in order to work out what kind they were: vegetable, “yummy egg”, fish; heated them in a fire; then dropped them into a hole in the ground and poured in fresh water, which steamed with a delicious aroma and turned into the soup.  Right before his eyes. And that is the Real Story of Stone Soup. 

Or is it?  The illustrations tell a very different story from the start and we realise that the crafty Ting, Pong and Kuai are indeed out to trick him with a bit of innocent fun. They distract the fisherman by giving him various small tasks such as whittling chopsticks. Then, while his back is turned, they add the necessary ingredients to the soup... Their pent up glee in the trick they are playing and their knowing glances, so beautifully depicted by Stéphane Jorisch, will be echoed by young readers/listeners of this story, who will delight in their superior knowledge. In fact, this book makes a great read-aloud because the tone of voice in which it can be read only adds to the humour: the more pompous, the more gullible he will appear.

Yet there is another level too, for as we learn in an author’s note, there is a tribe in southeast China famous for its stone soup, which is made exactly as the three boys made it.  So ironically our narrator was right, there were no sly tricks as far as making the soup was concerned, although there can be no doubt of the brothers’ intention to make a fool of him! A real recipe for stone soup is included – so let’s all go find some river stones... now listen carefully!