The Wretched Stone Read Free Books and Download eBooks
In a story recounted through the daily log of Captain Allan Hope, the sailors aboard the Rita Anne become mesmerized and transformed by a mysterious glowing rock, and only music and books can restore them to normal.
Lexile Measure: AD580L (What's this?)
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; 1st edition (October 28, 1991)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0395533074
ISBN-13: 978-0395533079
Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 9.2 x 11.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #39,692 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #29 in Books > Children's Books > Cars, Trains & Things That Go > Boats & Ships #431 in Books > Children's Books > Mysteries & Detectives #1607 in Books > Children's Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy & Magic
Age Range: 4 - 7 years
Grade Level: Preschool - 3
Even my eight-year-old grandchild got the message of this wonderful allegory. The Wretched Stone is an important story with a message-- a great reminder lesson for children and adults alike, about the dangers of watching too much television. It's so easy to slide into the passive oblivion in front of the tube. We need to tear ourselves and our children away from the "glowing orb."The sailors on the ship became captive to a glowing stone that said nothing. Anything like that around your house?
The Wretched Stone an intriguing tale that, like most of Van Allsburg's books, begins in a deceivingly normal way. The voyage of the Rita May turns strange when a large glowing rock is brought on board. As the crew becomes mesmerized by its light, they are transformed into ape-like beings, loosing the qualities that make them human. Until a storm hits , there appears no way the ship will survive. The story serves as a reminder that as we slip deeper into the electronic age, we may be loosing the very things that give us our humanity. It is a timely piece.
If you have trouble getting your kids to turn off the tv...here is a wonderful adventure book to show the kids how too much television viewing can turn you into an "ape"! Filled with metaphors for older children (8 and up) to figure out: Could the strange island where they found the wretched stone once have been inhabited with intelligent life? Perhaps all that is left (after pollution, technology) is unedible vegetation, undrinkable water, stinky odors--but the "stone" remains,("rough textured, gray with portion that is flat and smooth as glass,"), sound like a tv? How about the lightning that knocks out the "power" of the stone/tv? And I love the part where..."It seems that those who knew how to READ recovered more quickly."Another recommended "anti-tv" book for kids: "Fred's TV" by, Clive Dobson.(may be out of print, but can still get in online!)
Have you heard about the book The Wretched Stone? The author, Chris Van Allsburg, made a beautiful book. This book I will never forget. I am glad I read this book. I hope you will enjoy this book like I did. I thought that the colors were pale in the pictures. But, the theme is good. The theme is to not watch too much TV. The art work is like real people. I can tell that the author's words are very stiff. The story takes place mostly at sea in the boat. In The Wretched Stone it said, "Some play musical instruments and there are a few good strong storytellers among them." Also, a good quote they said is, "I am playing the violin and reading to the crew." I like the ending a lot. Also it is very funny that the crew turns into monkeys. The author's style is to make the kids see it in there minds. The crew and the captain are going through bad times. These entire things have a solution. The captain is the person who solves them. I enjoyed this book. I feel that the book is meant for higher grade levels. Mostly for forth and fifth graders. The pictures are not cartoons, they are real people. This book is very extraordinary. This book is a 4 star book. I hope this book review will make you read it too.
This is one of my favorite Chris Van Allsburg books. Chris Van Allsburg, author to gems like The Polar Express, The Stranger, Just a Dream, and The Wreck of the Zephyr, tells another captivating story with a message. This one serves as a great reminder and launching point for discussion, for children and adults alike, about the dangers of too much television.It's estimated that the average child watches about 4 hours of TV per day. That calculates out to 28 hours per week or 120 hours per month. Imagine what any one of us could accomplish in that amount of time! The sad truth is that for so many of us parents, the TV becomes a cheap and easy babysitter for our kids.The Wretched Stone is a great story with wonderful illustrations and a very important message.
I love Chris Van Allsburg books, I want to own all of them! this book was especially good to teach my student how to infer, they had fun collecting the clues the authro gives and then inferring what the wretched stone was. It was a good reading lesson, they loved it and I do too.
Vivid artwork in an array of dramatic colors adds to the mystery and eerieness of this book. I take it that the "wretched stone" is a metaphor for television and its hypnotic effect. I am taking a course on children's literature and have been sampling picture books, and so far Van Allsburg wins the palm. The darkness of this tale may be disconcerting to some of the young set, but the last page with its bright red, white and yellow colors and its kicker wit dispels the gloom and sends us all to bed happier and the wiser.
A favorite by Chris Van Allsburg. I read this to first graders as a cautionary tale about too much screen time. My 5 yr. old grandson needs strict limits with screen time. He got the message with this lovely book. I gently used dabs of double-faced tape to keep the key pages a surprise for more impact. The book has wonderful illustrations that encourage inferences by leaving key ideas out of view.
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