THE STONECUTTER

In a Chinese folktale about a malcontent stonecutter are echoes of Mordecai Gerstein's The Mountains of Tibet (1987). A stonecutter experiences the angel-abetted metamorphoses into the people or objects he admires: Thus, he passes from stonecutter to rich man, governor, farmer, sun, cloud, wind, rock, and back to stonecutter. This philosophical tale is told in very simple language to which the stylized pictures are the perfect complement; Demi (The Firebird, 1994, etc.) has created an extremely beautiful, stylized book. Bronzed pages and intricate but sparse illustrations of buildings, miniature costumed characters, and stone statues—all familiar from traditional Chinese art—are done with a combination of ink drawings and backgrounds of silk. A stunningly elegant book. (Picture book/folklore. 4-8)