Published by Chronicle Books

Summary:  “A stone sat still with water, grass, and dirt/and it was as it was where it was in the world.”  While the stone remains constant, perceptions of it change. To a chipmunk, it’s dark, but to an owl, it’s bright.  When a gull uses it to break open a clam, it’s loud, but it’s quiet to the snake resting on top of it. Over time (“And the stone was a blink/and the stone was an age”), the landscape changes and the stone becomes an island, then eventually is submerged underwater.  “Have you ever known such a place? Where with water, grass, and dirt, a stone sits still in the world.” 56 pages; ages 3-300.

Pros:  This is a truly amazing book with so many different levels: it can be read as a nature book for the kiddies, or as a Zen guide to learning to connect with the eternal in a transient world.  I wasn’t a huge fan of Wenzel’s Caldecott honor book They All Saw a Cat, but I sure would love to see this one get some Caldecott recognition.

Cons:  I feel like I need to retreat from the world and just think about this book for awhile.

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