Pistes d'exploration

Look at the cover and title page. What do you think bone button borscht might be? Share any other predictions you have about the story.

Why is the beggar such a happy character? How does he help the people of the village?

Compare the illustrations of the village and people at the beginning of the story and then at the end. What connections can you make between the illustrations and the plot?

Find a borscht recipe for the class to make. Compare the ingredients to those in the book. Make and enjoy the soup together.

Look at the cover illustration and guess what bone button borscht might be.

Brainstorm for what is needed to make soup. List the necessary ingredients and equipment.

As you read, note any soup ingredients you may have missed. Add them to your list.

Early in the story, there is a synagogue. With which religion is it associated? What other elements of this faith are mentioned in the story?

With a partner, draw a mind map of the story. Compare it to one of several other versions of this traditional tale and note the similarities and differences.

Bagels From Benny, Stone Soup

Mots-clés

Picture book , community , cooking , cooperation , folktales , generosity , Jewish culture

Commentaire descriptif

One winter night, a cheerful beggar makes his way into town, imagining the warmth and food he will soon be enjoying. Instead he is turned away everywhere but the synagogue. He offers to make soup, using only his buttons. The language used to retell this folktale offers rich descriptions of “driving snow” and “small, shadowy houses.” Hilarious dialogue mimics traditional shtetl lilts: “Leah, Leah, give us your wooden spoon!” they cried. “No!” she shouted. “Go away!” “Leah, it’s not for us, It’s for the little beggar in the synagogue. He’s going to make a miracle.” “With my spoon?” asked Leah. “What’s he going to do?… Teach it to dance, maybe?” Cool tones tint finely etched line drawings of shuttered houses and bundled peasants. As the beggar stirs his pot, vegetables are found to go in, too. Colours brighten: one spread shows a steaming soup, enriched with contributions from every household. At the bottom lies a bone button. In the end, the wintry town is warmed by the bright lights of homes—and by neighbours reaching out helping hands. “They learned to help one another without borscht, even in hard times. That was the real miracle the beggar left behind.”