The Amazing Bone, William Steig
The Amazing Bone, William Steig
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The Amazing Bone
(Caldecott Honor Book)

Author: William Steig

Narrator: Stanley Tucci

Unabridged: 28 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/20/2012

Synopsis

The Amazing Bone is a 1976 New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year and Outstanding Book of the Year, a 1977 Caldecott Honor Book, and a 1977 Boston Globe - Horn Book Awards Honor Book for Picture Books.

William Steig, incomparable master of the contemporary picture book, has never been better than in The Amazing Bone.

It's a bright and beautiful spring day, and Pearl, a pig, is dawdling on her way home from school. Most unexpectedly, she strikes up an acquaintance with a small bone. "You talk?" says Pearl. "In any language," says the bone. "And I can imitate any sound there is." (Its former owner was a witch.) Pearl and the bone immediately take a liking to each other, and before you know it she is on her way home with the bone in her purse, left open so they can continue their conversation. Won't her parents be surprised when she introduces her talking bone!

But before that happy moment comes, the resourceful bone must deal with a band of highway robbers in Halloween masks and, worse, a fox who decides that Pearl will be his main course at dinner that night. And deal it does, with gambits droll and thrilling.

Made into a short animated film voiced by John Lithgow, available on streaming and home video.

About William Steig

William Steig (1907-2003) was a cartoonist, illustrator and author of award-winning books for children, including Shrek!, on which the DreamWorks movies are based. Steig was born in New York City. Every member of his family was involved in the arts, and so it was no surprise when he decided to become an artist. He attended City College and the National Academy of Design. In 1930, Steig’s work began appearing in The New Yorker, where his drawings have been a popular fixture ever since. He published his first children's book, Roland the Minstrel Pig, in 1968. In 1970, Steig received the Caldecott Medal for Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. His books for children also include Dominic; The Real Thief; The Amazing Bone, a Caldecott Honor Book; Amos & Boris, a National Book Award finalist; and Abel's Island and Doctor De Soto, both Newbery Honor Books. Steig's books have also received the Christopher Award, the Irma Simonton Black Award, the William Allen White Children's Book Award, and the American Book Award. His European awards include the Premio di Letteratura per l'infanzia (Italy), the Silver Pencil Award (the Netherlands), and the Prix de la Fondation de France. On the basis of his entire body of work, Steig was selected as the 1982 U.S. candidate for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for Illustration and subsequently as the 1988 U.S. candidate for Writing. Steig also published thirteen collections of drawings for adults, beginning with About People in 1939, and including The Lonely Ones, Male/Female, The Agony in the Kindergarten, and Our Miserable Life. He died in Boston at the age of 95.

About Stanley Tucci

Stanley Tucci’s memorable roles include parts in the films Julie & Julia, The Hunger Games, The Devil Wears Prada, The Lovely Bones,The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, and Lucky Number Slevin.  He also wrote, directed, and produced Big Night--winner of an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay.  For his performance in the Broadway production of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Stanley received a Tony Nomination.  He has also garnered two AudioFile Earphones Awards for his audiobook narration, which includes reading William Steig's Shrek!

Reviews

Goodreads review by Calista on May 03, 2019

This is about Pearl the Pig. She is having the best spring afternoon ever. She is enjoying life after school walking all over until she comes to rest in the forest listening to the sounds and looking at the soft spring colors. She finds a bone that talks, it really talks and it’s smart. She and the......more

Goodreads review by Donna on January 26, 2018

William Steig was an amazing writer who used an outsized vocabulary to create children's books that adults would enjoy reading aloud. The best audience is the gifted child, someone that is still young enough to like a good picture book but that isn't bewildered by text. My favorite Steig book is Dr.......more

Goodreads review by John on April 18, 2019

I am actually here to praise the audio book of "The Amazing Bone" specifically. The book itself is great, but the audio book is really perfect. I would say four and a half stars for the book, but five for the audio book. John Lithgow does the narration and he nails the various voices, especially the......more

Goodreads review by Jason on August 17, 2024

I love Steig's illustrations, and these are wonderful. The story though is wierd and disturbing, and not something I would read to children. Where does the bone come from? What dead creature? Why does it talk? Why keep it as a friend on the mantelpiece? Then there are the robbers with the gun to pig......more

Goodreads review by Amber on July 22, 2021

I picked this up for my five-year-old. It looked a bit long and wordy for him, so I decided to look through it first before reading it to him. Came across the section where the main character is robbed at gunpoint (well, attempted) ... decided against reading it to the five-year-old. I'm sure we'll......more

Quotes

“Pearl (a piglet) discovers a talking bone, which had fallen out of a witch's basket...This is a tight mesh of witty storytelling and art, bound to please any audience.” —Starred, Booklist

Awards

  • Boston Globe-Horn Bk Award, Honor Bk
  • NYTBR Notable Children's BOTY
  • School Library Best Books of the Year
  • Reading Rainbow Review Book
  • The New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year
  • Horn Book Magazine Fanfare List
  • Caldecott Honor Book
  • ALA Notable Children's Books
  • School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
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