Independent Reading Level: pre-K - 1
Awards: Children's Choice Award, Parent's Choice Award, CCBC Choices, ABC Best Books for Children, Best Children's Books of the Year, Book Sense Winter Children's Picks, and the National Parenting Publication Awards ( )

I love this book! I read this to my kindergarteners and we would read multiple versions and compare and contrast them. This book is about 2 travelers who find themselves hungry when they get to a village. After knocking on doors and hear "I don't care, I won't share. There is no food." they decide the villagers are in need. They decide to make their magical soup, taking something small from each villager until there is enough soup for everyone. This story has a great message about how when you come together, you can make amazing things happen. I love the repetition of "I don't care, I won't share. There is no food!" Students really loved that during the read aloud. I also love the illustrations and how the illustrator uses depth perception. Lastly, there is a recipe to make your own stone soup in the back! ( )

Traditional Literature Children's Book

Independent reading level: 4-7 year olds, Prek- 2nd grade
Awards/ Honors: Winner of Parents' Choice Award & Bank Street College: Best Children's Books of the Year

Two weary old men arrive at a village on a hillside in need of food. They go from door to door, pleading for the kindness of strangers to no avail until they claim to be amazing cooks that can cook anything for anyone; even a magical soup. Slowly, villagers emerge from their homes out of curiosity. The weary travelers say their magical soup can be enhanced if only the villagers had various vegetables; so, they begin to retrieve items they claimed they didn't have. Together, the villagers and travelers create Stone Soup, a magical soup with one special ingredient: sharing.

This version includes characters of color, which is more culturally relevant to my students. I also love the illustrations!