Stone Soup with Matzoh Balls: A Passover Tale in Chelm

by Linda Glaser, Maryam Tabatabaei (Illustrator)

An old man walks into the town of Chelm asking for food. The townspeople claim they have nothing to share, but the man explains that he can make enough food for everyone with just a stone. The townspeople are intrigued and watch the man as he creates a pot of delicious matzoh ball soup. As he begins to cook, he asks for one ingredient and then another, which the townspeople provide. In the end, they have unknowingly contributed to making a Seder feast for all to share!

Genres: Picture Books, Jewish, Childrens, Cultural, Holiday, Retellings

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Set · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it, they mixed the story of the stone soup with Passover in the fictional town of Chelm from a Jewish folktale.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite stories. I love this version set in Chelm at Passover (see back matter). The cadene of the dialogue seems so authentic to me.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Linda Glaser gives her retelling of the Stone Soup fable a Jewish twist - setting it in the town of Chelm during the celebration of Passover. When the townspeople are reluctant to invite a stranger in for the Seder, the stranger claims that he can make the most delicious matzoh ball soup with just a stone and cleverly tricks the townspeople into supplying the needed ingredients. Maryam Tabatabaei's illustrations have a charm of their own that perfectly matches the tone of the story. Like the Matzoh Ball soup the stranger makes, this is the perfect blending of three well-known elements - the Jewish holiday of Passover, the fictional Jewish town of Chelm, and the fable of Stone Soup. The book concludes with paragraphs that provide more information about Passover, Chelm, and the fable of the Stone Soup. This is a welcome addition to the folktale and holiday collections.

[4th Grade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stone soup Matzoh Balls

Was sad, interesting and full of kindness.
A stranger came to a tiny town because he wanted to help the town. However the stranger saw he cant help them but he wants to give them food. The town said ok and he did it.

The stranger was a good person and helpful. The stranger was helpful because he want to help the town and make to the soup. The ending is happy and full of kindness. The ending is happy because the stranger succeeded to make enough soup for all the town. The writing was with onomatopoeia for example, ahh and more! Read this book if you love to help people.

[Elizabeth Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing gorgeous illustrations, so well done. lovely story, learning for me. i am not Jewish but enjoy knowledge to my mind.

[Paula Tuebo Munkelwitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to read a slightly different version of my favorite fable, stone soup. This is just as good as the original!

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The classic story of Stone Soup gets a Passover retelling set in the foolish village of Chelm. My child found the story funny, but predictable.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love love love this story - great Passover twist to it

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is charming. I've always enjoyed the Stone Soup tales and this one has a delightful twist for Passover with the stranger enticing the townsfolk to create a matzo ball soup for Seder. The Stone Soup fable lends itself so perfectly to the Passover meal because one of the well-known lines from the Haggadah is "All who are hungry come and eat." Setting the tale in the Jewish town of Chelm is also perfect because tales of Chelm (the "village of fools") are often "filled with silliness but sprinkled with wisdom" as is the case with the stone soup story. I appreciate that the author made notes about this at the back of the story and also explains a little about Passover to provide enough context for those not already familiar. Even my ten-year-old listened attentively to this delightfully written tale.

[Moonkiszt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Featured in a grandma reads session.

Ah! Stone soup! I remember my grade school teacher reading a book about this delicious soup . . . I was so taken with it, that I ran all the way home, making sure to pick up a large stone on the way. I busted in the door and asked if Mom had already started dinner - she hadn't, and I put the stone in her lap - and told her all about the recipe that I had learned at school. She said she would give it a try, and bless her, she did. We had stone soup! (Which tasted very similar to her chicken noodle soup.)

The kids enjoyed the story. I offered to make some, but they were wise to the trick, and gave me a pass. Discussion did follow about the ingenuity of the soupmaker, though, getting all those people to participate with enthusiasm. . . a lesson in group motivation.

[Clare Rossetter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple retelling of the stone soup tale. This time the setting is in an imaginary village of Chelm. Chelm is a village of fools according to Jewish folklore. It takes place during Passover where the tradition is to feed any who are hungry. A hungry stranger appears and no one wants to feed him so he pretends he can make matzoh ball soup with a stone. Of course, the townspeople end up bringing ingredients until the soup is made and all enjoy the meal. The illustrations are in muted colors and the people look as one would imagine villagers in an isolated village might look. At the end of the tale there is information about Passover, Chelm and the stone soup tale to help the reader understand where this story comes from. Good retelling of a fable that has been around since about the 1600's. There are many versions, the one I remember best is the French adaptation with three hungry soldiers who make stone soup for some villagers. This version incorporates a little bit of religious tradition and uses as the setting a village used in many stories by Jewish storytellers, thus giving it a very cultural look as a story and putting it into a specific context..

[DelAnne Frazee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Stone Soup with Matzoh Balls A Passover Tale in Chelm
Author: Linda Glaser
Illustrator: Maryam Tabatabaei
Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media/Albert Whtman And Company
Published: 3-18-2014
ISBN: ISBN9781480474888
E-Book ASIN: B00IU8CT3U
Pages: 20
Genre: Children's Fiction
Tags: Inspirational
Sensual Level: N/A
Overall Rating: Excellent
Reviewed For: NetGalley
Reviewer: DelAnne


It may take a village to raise a child but it only takes an old man with a stone to feed a village. An old man walks into the village of Chelm. With the approach of Passover he hopes he might be able to get something to eat, but everyone claims they have nothing to spare. Undaunted the old man pulls out a stone and tells the villagers that he will feed them all using only that stone. Read along and see how he does it.


A wonderful story to share with your children no matter what their age. It is an updated version of one I heard nearly fifty years ago and I still love it today. Pick up a copy for your young readers and share the message that there is always room for one more.

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title and subtitle tell you exactly what to expect: a Passover-themed retelling of Stone Soup.

Stone Soup has never been one of my favorite stories, but Stone Soup with Matzoh Balls is much better than most. Most notably, the illustrations are colorful and cheery--I want to live in Chelm with these characters. For that reason alone, I'd recommend Stone Soup with Matzoh Balls over the many other Stone Soup variations out there.

The Passover theme is an added bonus; I appreciate any book that can add some diversity to my shelves and greater cultural understanding to its readers. I didn't know anything about the fictional town of Chelm before reading Glaser's book, but I'm intrigued by the concept now and will be looking into more references to Chelm in literature.

Note: I received a digital galley of this book through NetGalley.

[Barbara Ayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Right before sundown on the First Night of Passover, a stranger arrives in the town of Chelm. This 'villlage of fools' with its dash of wisdom, is famous for coming up with ridiculous solutions for simple, everyday problems. In this simple tale, perfect for ages 4-7, the stranger asks for food, but the townspeople claim they have nothing to share. The man explains that he can make enough food for everyone with just a stone. As he begins to cook, he asks for one ingredient and then another, which the townspeople provide. In the end, they make a wonderful Seder Feast that the whole town shares.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This interpretation really works for me. A poor stranger comes to the town of Chelm during Passover. He claims he can make Matzoh Ball soup with just a stone and water. Of course, it takes the whole village to supply the real soup ingredients, but in the end they feast!

The Jewish storytelling voice is evident in the text making this a good read aloud. The digital illustrations are the only thing holding this story back for me. I yearned for something grittier with a nice paper choice that added some texture.

Recommended for PreK-2+.

[Jess at Such a Novel Idea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am not Jewish, nor have I ever celebrated Passover, but I am always interested in books that I can use to help my children learn about the world and other cultures. This story is one I had never heard, but was really interesting. The illustrations were lovely and complemented the story well. Both my children and I had fun learning about a traditional folk tale and about Passover. This is one we really enjoyed reading!

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

With lovely illustrations, this is the tale of stone soup put into the setting of the town of Chelm, a fictional town of fools from Jewish folklore. In this story it is Passover and the stone soup is stone matzoh ball soup, but otherwise follows the traditional stone soup story. I think this is a fun story for children for Passover and a very cute book. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a take on the Stone Soup story with the tie-in of Passover. There are many references to the Jewish culture and it is a good addition to the study of world traditions.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting font difference indicating the beginning and end of the story/voice.

informational page in the back about stone soup and Passover.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute book. I love how it just adds a little more to the original story.

[Dayna Derichs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Professional Support/Diverse Lit Paper Resource

[Analise]

i cant even open the freaking book

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stone soup and the "wise" people of Chelm? What a great combo!