Sylvester and the Magic Pebble is a great book to read aloud to children. It is interesting that there are no human characters in this story but all characters (the family of donkeys, the lion, and other farm animals) are humanized. That is, they are standing, wearing clothes, reading, cleaning, and doing otherwise "human" activities.
Sylvester, the young donkey is a collector of unique pebbles. One pebble is magic, and when Sylvester wishes upon the pebble his wishes come true. But, when one wish doesn't go as Sylvester planned and he ends up turning himself into a rock when attempting to dodge a Lion. The book becomes very sad... depressing. The donkey parents search and search for Sylvester with long, worried faces. The problem here is that the parents only search for one month and only choose to ask and look in the same places. Then the parents had expended their options and they feared the worst - THEY GAVE UP ON THEIR LITTLE DONKEY SON.
The mom and dad donkey were so sad that "life had no meaning for them anymore." Seasons passed and Sylvester (the rock) was sad, lonely, cold, hungry, and slept most of the time. Finally through a mere coincidental miracle, the parents use the rock that is Sylvester as a picnic table and find the magic pebble which reunites the donkey family.
They are all happy in the end, but for me this book is too sad - perhaps it would not be so upsetting for young children who may be able to relate to the emotions presented, rather than being thrown back by the somber and dramatic tone of the story as I was.
Overall, I must say that the book has a great flow to it, it is very readable, and the illustrations are vivid and captivating for young readers. A very interesting read.
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