Stone Soup with Matzoh Balls: A Passover Tale in Chelm

PreS-Gr 2—The familiar story of stone soup gets a Passover twist (and a little Chelm magic) in this charming retelling. A stranger appears in Chelm just before sundown on the first night of Passover. The villagers are unwilling to invite him to the seder because they have barely enough for themselves. From here, the traditional folktale unfolds, with the stranger producing a stone in a pot of water and the townspeople supplying the ingredients that transform it into a hearty soup. This soup, in fact, features the lightest, fluffiest matzoh balls in the world. When the time comes to begin the seder, the stranger is welcomed into the synagogue, and all of the inhabitants of the village fill their bellies with his "magical" soup. The Passover message of "let all who are hungry come and eat" is well illustrated in this tale. The text lends itself to reading aloud, and the muted palette of the illustrations extend the story well. A good selection for folktale and holiday collections.—Martha Link Yesowitch, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, NC