The Secret of the Stones (Phyllis Fogelman Books) - Hardcover

San Souci, Robert D.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803716400 ISBN 13: 9780803716407

Publisher: Dial, 2000

Synopsis

When John and Clara return to their cabin from working in the fields one evening, they are startled to discover that all of their household chores have been done. The mysterious, magical Aunt Easter tells the couple the identity of these unknown benefactors and their connection to the two white stones that Clara keeps in the house. Armed solely with Aunt Easter's advice and their own affectionate, courageous hearts, John and Clara must confront the evil conjure man. Only then will they solve the secret of the stones and fill the void in their childless home.

Robert San Souci has drawn again from the rich legacy of African-American folklore, as he did in his acclaimed The Hired Hand and The Talking Eggs. And the deep, jewel-like colors of James Ransome's paintings carry the reader into the majestic Ozark mountains and inside this marvelously dramatic and touching story of love and courage.

About this title

Reviews

Grade 2-5-A childless, hardworking couple finds two beautiful white stones while walking home from the cotton fields one evening. Clara takes them to their cabin, thinking to use them to sharpen knives, but they are quickly forgotten in the round of continual work. The next few evenings, however, upon their return from work, they find all their chores done and everything set out to cook supper. When the mysterious Aunt Easter informs them that the stones are really two orphaned siblings under the power of an evil "conjure-man," they become determined to release the children and adopt them. San Souci's retelling of a story from both the African and African-American traditions has verve and style, using heavy dialect and chant effectively and maintaining tension right up to the satisfying ending. Ransome's oil-on-paper illustrations are big, bold, and arresting. They have an accomplished kinetic sense that complements the vivid narrative to a tee. A perfectly magical offering.
Ann Welton, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ransome's (Uncle Jed's Barbershop) strikingly realistic oil paintings form the backbone for San Souci's (The Talking Eggs) retelling of a folktale from Virginia Holladay's Bantu Tales and based on African-American Arkansas lore. As a childless couple walks home after a long day in the cotton fields, Clara finds two white stones that "shone as pale and round and smooth as twin moons in her cinnamon-colored palm." Though John questions their usefulness ("What yo' gonna do with dose li'l rocks?"), his wife brings the stones home. In a rather abrupt transition, the duo returns home from work the next day to discover their chores mysteriously completed. After a clairvoyant neighbor reveals her dream--that the rocks are actually an orphaned boy and girl--she bids John and Clara to visit the "conjure-man" who transformed the children. Though the pacing here is not as fluid as in some of San Souci's retellings, he skillfully blends dialect and atmospheric description (the villain's eyes "were two narrow slits that made him look mean as a rattlesnake"). Ransome's close-up portraits convey the range of emotions for the couple as well as the liberated children, and his rendering of a white conjure-man delivers a strong underlying message. Ages 4-8. (Dec.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From San Souci, an artful blend of magic and courage in a cheering tale that is stunningly depicted in Ransome's resplendent artwork. Clara and John, two African-Americans from ``back in the olden times,'' are husband and wife, and toilers in the fields. Returning home one day, Clara picks up two little white stones. Shortly thereafter, when they return home after a day of work, they find the house neat, dinner made, and a fire blazing on the hearth. A neighbor, Aunt Easter, ``who could see `hants' and knew healing secrets and could work charms and sometimes had `prophesyin' dreams,'' tells them the stones are orphans. John and Clara learn that they can see the children, but only by hiding; as soon as the children see them they return to stone. Aunt Easter tells John and Clara that they will have to thwart the conjurer who put the spell on the children if they are to gain the children's freedom. This they do, in a bit of cleverness that takes a few unexpected and gratifying turns, and they end up with two fine young children to raise. San Souci's note places the story's origins in Bantu folktales that made it all the way into Arkansas folklore virtually unscathed. That's almost as much of a miracle as the story itself. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

San Souci elaborates on a tale with roots in folklore from both Arkansas and Zaire, involving a childless couple, an evil conjure-man, and two orphans who have been turned into pebbles. After bringing home two white stones they found on their way home from the fields, John and Clara return each day from work to find their house cleaned and a meal ready. A wise woman explains: the stones are children, who can only be freed by milk, eggs, and corn taken from the conjure-man who bewitched them. Ransome depicts his serious-looking (American) characters and their verdant rural setting with dignified, richly colored, uncluttered realism. Although San Souci's characters speak in dialect ("`Tell us how to fine dat conjure-man.'"), his language and pacing combine for a strong, direct telling that stands up to the stately illustrations. Children will be riveted and delighted by the tale's suspense, its see-saw climax, and the scary conjure-man's squishy demise. Source notes are appended. John Peters

Edition details

• Publisher: Dial
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0803716400
• ISBN 13: 9780803716407
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Ransome James
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40