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The Cuckoo Clock
A chapter book for young readers by a Newbery Honor winning author. “Original, wise, and thoughtful.”―School Library Journal
It is a long time ago in a village near Germany’s Black Forest, and Erich, a foundling, has been left in the care of the good and charitable Frau Goddhart. Or, at least the publicly good and charitable Frau Goddhart; at home it’s quite another story. Erich’s young life of work and little love changes when old Ula, the town’s most skillful clockmaker, offers him a job as his helper. Ula is a patient and very slow worker, which is why his cuckoo clocks are the best anywhere. Ula teaches Erich about clockmaking, playing the fiddle, and many other useful and wonderful things.
One day as Ula works at his clockmaking and Erich looks on, Baron Balloon storms in demanding a clock. Ula refuses, and decided right then and there to make a clock for himself, a wondrous, beautiful clock that will be his last and best. The clock he makes – with Erich’s help―is wonderful, beautiful, and magical, with a cheerful enchanted cuckoo bird that knows all the thirty-six songs of the birds of the Black Forest.
Mary Stolz’s story is alive with the magic of art and is sure to enchant, as are the warm pencil illustrations by Pamela Johnson.
It is a long time ago in a village near Germany’s Black Forest, and Erich, a foundling, has been left in the care of the good and charitable Frau Goddhart. Or, at least the publicly good and charitable Frau Goddhart; at home it’s quite another story. Erich’s young life of work and little love changes when old Ula, the town’s most skillful clockmaker, offers him a job as his helper. Ula is a patient and very slow worker, which is why his cuckoo clocks are the best anywhere. Ula teaches Erich about clockmaking, playing the fiddle, and many other useful and wonderful things.
One day as Ula works at his clockmaking and Erich looks on, Baron Balloon storms in demanding a clock. Ula refuses, and decided right then and there to make a clock for himself, a wondrous, beautiful clock that will be his last and best. The clock he makes – with Erich’s help―is wonderful, beautiful, and magical, with a cheerful enchanted cuckoo bird that knows all the thirty-six songs of the birds of the Black Forest.
Mary Stolz’s story is alive with the magic of art and is sure to enchant, as are the warm pencil illustrations by Pamela Johnson.
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
About the author
Mary Stolz
89 books36 followersMary Stolz was a noted author for children and adolescents whose novels earned critical praise for the seriousness with which they took the problems of young people. Two of her books ''Belling the Tiger'' (1961) and ''The Noonday Friends'' (1965), were named Newbery Honor books by the ALA but it was her novels for young adults that combined romance with realistic situations that won devotion from her fans. Young men often created more problems and did not always provide happy ever after endings. Her heroines had to cope with complex situations and learn how to take action whether it was working as nurses (The Organdy Cupcakes), living in a housing project (Ready or Not), or escaping from being a social misfit by working for the summer as a waitress (The Sea Gulls Woke Me).
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 25, 2016
The Cuckoo Clock is a magical story with a kind-hearted clock maker named Old Ula, his apprentice a ‘Foundling’ (author’s term) named Erich, and some selfish adults who need to learn patience and the value of good craftsmanship. The book is illustrated with lovely charcoal sketches of the Black Forest of Germany from a bygone era. There is all the feel of an old-fashioned tale, though it was written in 1987. It even begins with ‘Once upon a time’!
The magic for me were the memories elicited of the years my husband and I lived in Germany when we were first married, 1986-1991, and the times we traveled to the Black Forest. Happiness!
A book for children of all ages.
The magic for me were the memories elicited of the years my husband and I lived in Germany when we were first married, 1986-1991, and the times we traveled to the Black Forest. Happiness!
A book for children of all ages.
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November 15, 2017It's the type of European-village fairy tale that reminds me of Tolkien's Smith of Wootton Major or maybe Walter Wangerin Jr.'s Elisabeth and the Water Troll. It's also the kind of magical story that I can't imagine writing--at least, not going through all the "normal" drafting and editing processes. It seems, like some of Rumer Godden's stories, to have sprung to life complete and whole, like the wooden cuckoo bird itself that begins to sing all the songs of the forest.
You can find short descriptions of the plot anywhere, so I won't go into it much. A needy young boy, Erich, manages to connect with the one kindred spirit in town: the elderly clockmaker, who begins to train him as an assistant and allows him to help carve his final masterpiece. When the clock is finished, the clockmaker dies--shattering the small security Erich has found with him, but leaving him a fiddle and his carving tools. That's only the first half of the story: the rest of the adventure is Erich's.
I found this description on the Amazon site:
"Stolz' delicate ironies and precise writing style save her story from sentimentality, enabling it to teach an interesting and rigorous lesson about the liability of the self-involved to understand the true beauty of the world. Original, wise, and thoughtful. Christine Behrmann, New York Public Lib. (Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.)
And that's very true; the abused-orphan story has been done to death, and Stolz herself pokes fun at this tradition: "Boys even younger would leave unhappy homes and go into the wide world seeking their fortunes, which, according to the stories, they always found." It would be easy for this story to become forced and overdrawn. But in the hands of a master craftsman, even such a plain stick of wood can become something beautiful.
You can find short descriptions of the plot anywhere, so I won't go into it much. A needy young boy, Erich, manages to connect with the one kindred spirit in town: the elderly clockmaker, who begins to train him as an assistant and allows him to help carve his final masterpiece. When the clock is finished, the clockmaker dies--shattering the small security Erich has found with him, but leaving him a fiddle and his carving tools. That's only the first half of the story: the rest of the adventure is Erich's.
I found this description on the Amazon site:
"Stolz' delicate ironies and precise writing style save her story from sentimentality, enabling it to teach an interesting and rigorous lesson about the liability of the self-involved to understand the true beauty of the world. Original, wise, and thoughtful. Christine Behrmann, New York Public Lib. (Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.)
And that's very true; the abused-orphan story has been done to death, and Stolz herself pokes fun at this tradition: "Boys even younger would leave unhappy homes and go into the wide world seeking their fortunes, which, according to the stories, they always found." It would be easy for this story to become forced and overdrawn. But in the hands of a master craftsman, even such a plain stick of wood can become something beautiful.
February 9, 2011
This is a neat book. First of all, it is just a beautiful paperback. I want to have more books by this publisher. Second, the characters were so interesting. The story is about a young boy who is left on the doorstep of a woman with a reputation for being such a kind, benevolent person, but at home she is not at all. The boy gets to spend part of every day with an old man...the finest clockmaker in the country. The love and interest shown to the boy by the clockmaker encourage him to pursue his own passions. I'm not making sense, but it was a great book!
June 29, 2019
I found this book in the basement by chance and I'm glad that I did because it's such a charming book. It has such a wonderful setting and I really loved Ula. If not for the length I wouldn't have even been able to tell that this was a children's book. The writing is very quality. I'd like to thank Stolz for this short but lovely read.
March 18, 2014
I like this book because it had a happy and sad part. It had characters named Ula, Erich, Frau Goddhart, Britt, Herr Goddhart, six Goddhart children, the Baroness, the Baron, Cook, and some servants. The part I liked best was when Erich met Britt because Britt foretold Erich's future, and she gave him some bread and money and sent him off.
Review by Elena age 7
Review by Elena age 7
April 14, 2022
Ages: 8-11
Content Considerations: mention of second sight and palm readings
This was a quick, easy read about an old, kind clockmaker and the orphan child into whom he's chosen to invest the last years of his life. It offers a surprising insight into the character of people whose good works are only for show.
I personally loved the mention of the birds coming to nest upon the town chimneys. That little detail makes an immediate and delightful connection to several of my favorite children's books.
Content Considerations: mention of second sight and palm readings
This was a quick, easy read about an old, kind clockmaker and the orphan child into whom he's chosen to invest the last years of his life. It offers a surprising insight into the character of people whose good works are only for show.
I personally loved the mention of the birds coming to nest upon the town chimneys. That little detail makes an immediate and delightful connection to several of my favorite children's books.
November 12, 2022
This one is listed as being for "young readers". Well, I will allow that young readers will enjoy it and be able to read it easily but the messages contained are filled with wisdom and this is really one for the ages. It is a gorgeous moral tale with an intense reminder that true kindness comes from the heart and cannot truly be mimicked. This is also a reminder of the importance of true mentorship. which is always a hit with me.
October 30, 2022
A touching story about old Ula and his young assistant Erich and how they interact with the world and with their families. The main focus of the story is the creation of a beautiful, hand carved cuckoo clock, but the message is much deeper. The illustrations are beautiful and it was a lovely story with a clear message.
August 2, 2026
I wanted to like this. I like Ula and Erich and nobody else in the whole story - well except the dog. The pictures were well done, but kind of realistic in a creepy sort of way. I didn't hate it, I just didn't really like it that much.
February 6, 2017
Beautiful story to keep and share with my children's children. Very uplifting and deep with a magical quality.
April 13, 2018
It is a fairy tale but with a more realistic modern ending.
December 5, 2019
A very cheering and well-written little story. Reminded me of Elizabeth Goudge's The Dean's Watch, which if you are an adult who liked this, you would probably also enjoy.
November 13, 2009
Not a terrible book--just irritating in the way it manufactures tension by creating only kindly-souled characters and black-hearted characters. It's also disappointing that the author pins the story's impact and significance on heavy foreshadowing that reaches beyond the end of the book--that is, on the young boy's "future fame."
May 18, 2010
"Stolz's delicate ironies and precise writing style save her story from sentimentality . . . Original, wise, and thoughtful."
— School Library Journal (starred review)
— School Library Journal (starred review)
January 7, 2012
I liked the bird, and wonder what it's doing now...
June 18, 2012
A special little story.
September 20, 2011
I finished it in like 2 hours!!
April 2, 2017
A nice story about an orphan boy and the clockmaker who teaches him to make clocks in the Black Forest of Germany. Exquisite illustrations by Pamela Johnson.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews