Pistes d'exploration

Learn the words for “Star Light, Star Bright.” Practise saying the version from the book. How are the two poems similar?

If you could have any wish in the world, what would it be? Write it on a piece of paper and add it to a jar on the teacher’s desk. Each morning, read one wish aloud and discuss the possibility of it coming true.

Explain how Ella May’s wishes backfired on her. List the actions she took to regain her friends. What would you have done in Ella’s shoes?

Why did Ella May thank the wishing stone? What did she learn about friendship? In groups, list the qualities of a good friend. Share your list with another group. 

Learn the words for “Star Light, Star Bright,” the poem about wishes. Practise saying the the version from the book. How are the two poems similar?

In small groups, identify the key elements of the story and sequence it using a graphic organizer. 

Discuss and sort out the situations where the children are being good friends and when they are not. 

Ella May has a wishing stone; what do you use for making wishes?

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

Mots-clés

Picture book , friendship , gratitude , imagination , magic , sharing , wishes

Commentaire descriptif

Ella May finds a wishing stone—identifiable by the etched line that runs “all-all-all the way around it.” Her friends gather to see it (that was Ella May’s wish), and when she won’t share, they go off to find their own. But none of the other stones have the same special line. Children will appreciate this book’s authentic dialogue: “‘Nope,’ she said happily. She looked at Maya’s stone, then at Amir’s stone. ‘Nope and double nope,’ she said…. ‘You’re not nice,’ Manuel said.” Sketchy illustrations in crayon and watercolour effects depict a summer world of sunhats and sandals. Ella May stalks into her house, trailing a beach towel. When she returns, she’s laden with things to make her friends’ wishes come true. Maya frolics on a pony made from a broom; Amir walks on the bumpy egg-carton surface of the moon. Young readers may not be surprised that Ella May has more fun with friends than her wishing stone, and soon she finds she’s misplaced it. “‘Maybe wishing stones don’t stay very long,’ Manuel said.” Gratitude, friendship and sharing are the uplifting themes of this sweet story. As Ella May says in the end, “Thank you, wishing stone.”