''Sylvester and the Magic Pebble'' is a children's picture book written and illustrated by William Steig, and published in 1969. The book received the Caldecott Medal in 1970.

Plot

Sylvester Duncan, a young donkey from the fictional community of Oatsdale, collects pebbles "of unusual shape and color." One day he finds a spherical red pebble that grants wishes. Immediately afterward, a lion scares Sylvester, and as a defense he wishes himself into a rock--the only thing he could think of at the moment. Unfortunately, the magic pebble falls off the rock, and Sylvester is unable to revert to his donkey form as the pebble must be in contact with the wish-maker to work. The rest of the story deals with the resulting aftermath: Sylvester's personal attempt to change back into his true self and Mr. and Mrs. Duncan's search for their only child.

Awards

''Sylvester and the Magic Pebble'' earned Steig the 1970 Caldecott Medal, his first of many Caldecott and Newbery Medal honors.American Library Association
Caldecott Medal Winners, 1938 - Present
URL accessed 27 May 2009. The book was nominated for the 1970

National Book Award for Young People's Literature The National Book Award for Young People's Literature is one of five annual National Book Awards, which are given by the National Book Foundation (NBF) to recognize outstanding literary work by US citizens. They are awards "by writers to writers".< ...

(losing out to Isaac Bashevis Singer's ''A Day of Pleasure'')."National Book Awards – 1970"
NBF. Retrieved 2012-02-07. (Select 1970 to 1979 from the top left menu.) In 1978, ''Sylvester and the Magic Pebble'' was given the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award.

In popular culture

The book was also featured on an episode of '' Between the Lions''. In 1993,

Weston Woods Studios Weston Woods Studios (or simply Weston Woods) is a production company that makes audio and short films based on well-known books for children. It was founded in 1953 by Morton Schindel in Weston, Connecticut, and named after the wooded area near h ...

adapted this book to an animated movie, narrated by

John Lithgow John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. Lithgow studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his work on the stage and screen. He has been the recipient of numerous ...

and directed by

Gene Deitch Eugene Merril Deitch (August 8, 1924 – April 16, 2020) was an American illustrator, animator, comics artist, and film director who was based in Prague from the 1960s until his death in 2020. Deitch was known for creating animated cartoons ...

, with music by Steig's son, jazz flautist Jeremy Steig.

Controversy

The book sparked some controversy, for its portrayal of the police as pigs, and as a result was not stocked by public schools and libraries in parts of the United States.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sylvester And The Magic Pebble 1969 children's books American picture books Books by William Steig Caldecott Medal–winning works Children's fiction books Children's novels about animals Fiction about shapeshifting Fictional donkeys Literature controversies