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The Stone-Faced Boy
Only his strange great-aunt seems to understand the thoughts behind a young boy's expressionless face as he returns on an eerie, snowy night from rescuing a dog that dislikes him. Reprint.
84 pages, Paperback
First published December 30, 1968
69 people want to read
About the author
Paula Fox
57 books394 followersPaula Fox was an American author of novels for adults and children and two memoirs. Her novel The Slave Dancer (1973) received the Newbery Medal in 1974; and in 1978, she was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal. More recently, A Portrait of Ivan won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in 2008.
A teenage marriage produced a daughter, Linda, in 1944. Given the tumultuous relationship with her own biological parents, she gave the child up for adoption. Linda Carroll, the daughter Fox gave up for adoption, is the mother of musician Courtney Love.
Fox then attended Columbia University, married the literary critic and translator Martin Greenberg, raised two sons, taught, and began to write.
A teenage marriage produced a daughter, Linda, in 1944. Given the tumultuous relationship with her own biological parents, she gave the child up for adoption. Linda Carroll, the daughter Fox gave up for adoption, is the mother of musician Courtney Love.
Fox then attended Columbia University, married the literary critic and translator Martin Greenberg, raised two sons, taught, and began to write.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 16, 2012
This book I first read when I was 12 years old, and I read it together with my sister who was three years younger. I cannot begin to tell to you the power that this story had on us. We each would take turns reading aloud the chapters until we got tired. This was a long sort of read for kids this age to do together, chapter by chapter and took a lot of dedication, so it bespeaks the spell the story wove over us.
It could have been that we were just nerdy kids, but there was something infinitely creepy almost horror storyish about the given elements of the book. Also, because of our ages at the time there were things in the story that confused us, that were some kind of fantasy or psychedelic interlude that we could never quite piece together, but thinking back I'm sure were meant to be a trip into the mind of the boy in question of the stone face.
I see another reader on here who has spoken unfavorably of the other family members in this story. Indeed the other family members seem indifferent or even brutal to each other through most of the book. But for my sister and I, rather than being horrifying or incomprehensible, these elements seemed true and even hilarious. I remember in particular a laughing fit over the part of the story where the protagonist's younger sister sits in front of the family's television that has broken sound, as she is giving dialogue to the stories unrolling in the programs and the commercials. The image of a television with no sound playing without purpose, being given senseless story lines by a young girl. This scene of the broken television and the scenes of the large and chaotic but brutal family life would have been a familiar trope to the children of working class families of the era in which this book was written.
The real thing about this book for me was that somehow, in all of my childhood's varied and adult literature reading, this children's book stands out to me now as being the introduction to a world of subtle unfolding and oblique symbolism. I was at an age where mystery and fantasy were at their premium. While this story is really a peak at dysfunctional family life and the mind of the child trying to navigate it, my sister and I would litterally shiver when a particular passage struck us as eerie. Like I said, we were nerdy kids.
I first picked up this book at the public library when we were living in Daly City, CA which is right south of San Francisco. To me, this book is deeply intertwined with the mist, the cold, the swirling fogs which would envelope our sterile southbay house on a steep street that overlooked the bay. The treeless and grassless yards, that ran the water that rained incessantly downward rapidly back to the ocean. The weekend trips to visit redwood groves, standing in the chill mist, with huge drops of water dripping off of the ferns in the holy silence. The swift winds that whipped up the hill, ruining our afternoons playing in the backyard and making our noses run. I remember distinctly a day so cold (this was pre Playstations obviously when parents forced their children to play out in all weather) that I, my siblings, and several neighborhood children spent almost the entire playday standing around the heater vent coming from the side of the house warming our hands.
That time period set the tone for a large theme in my life a theme of creativity, mystery and the heart of love of an artist.
It could have been that we were just nerdy kids, but there was something infinitely creepy almost horror storyish about the given elements of the book. Also, because of our ages at the time there were things in the story that confused us, that were some kind of fantasy or psychedelic interlude that we could never quite piece together, but thinking back I'm sure were meant to be a trip into the mind of the boy in question of the stone face.
I see another reader on here who has spoken unfavorably of the other family members in this story. Indeed the other family members seem indifferent or even brutal to each other through most of the book. But for my sister and I, rather than being horrifying or incomprehensible, these elements seemed true and even hilarious. I remember in particular a laughing fit over the part of the story where the protagonist's younger sister sits in front of the family's television that has broken sound, as she is giving dialogue to the stories unrolling in the programs and the commercials. The image of a television with no sound playing without purpose, being given senseless story lines by a young girl. This scene of the broken television and the scenes of the large and chaotic but brutal family life would have been a familiar trope to the children of working class families of the era in which this book was written.
The real thing about this book for me was that somehow, in all of my childhood's varied and adult literature reading, this children's book stands out to me now as being the introduction to a world of subtle unfolding and oblique symbolism. I was at an age where mystery and fantasy were at their premium. While this story is really a peak at dysfunctional family life and the mind of the child trying to navigate it, my sister and I would litterally shiver when a particular passage struck us as eerie. Like I said, we were nerdy kids.
I first picked up this book at the public library when we were living in Daly City, CA which is right south of San Francisco. To me, this book is deeply intertwined with the mist, the cold, the swirling fogs which would envelope our sterile southbay house on a steep street that overlooked the bay. The treeless and grassless yards, that ran the water that rained incessantly downward rapidly back to the ocean. The weekend trips to visit redwood groves, standing in the chill mist, with huge drops of water dripping off of the ferns in the holy silence. The swift winds that whipped up the hill, ruining our afternoons playing in the backyard and making our noses run. I remember distinctly a day so cold (this was pre Playstations obviously when parents forced their children to play out in all weather) that I, my siblings, and several neighborhood children spent almost the entire playday standing around the heater vent coming from the side of the house warming our hands.
That time period set the tone for a large theme in my life a theme of creativity, mystery and the heart of love of an artist.
November 30, 2014
Extremely wonderful kids' book. I highly recommend it.
September 12, 2022
Paula Fox’s books inhabit a space like no other author . Describing her writing is like trying to describe what air looks like. They are an experience into interiors which are entered into blindly but with a steady cane . My only wish is that I had read this one as a child .
December 4, 2015
The Stone Faced Boy
The Stone Faced Boy is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. It is a very interesting book. This book was about a girl named Serena who finds a dog that she eventually wants to keep as a pet. So, she takes it to her house, to show to her siblings and parents. One day, she finds out that her dog has escaped which leaves her very concerned. She instantly tells her brother, Gus to go do something very terrifying at night. At the end of the story, something very impressive and surprising happened.
The main character in this story was Gus, because the whole story was about his adventure. The other reason why he was the main character is because he was shown as the center of attention as the author wanted you to focus and analyze his character. Finally, he was the person that actually went alone on that terrifying adventure. This story has one major conflict which was Serena losing her dog whom she loves a lot. Also, as I said before the story showed a very terrifying journey that Gus went on. My favorite character in this book is Gus because he did everything and risked his own life for the dog. Also, he was being very loyal to Serena because being her brother; he very much wanted to make her happy. I can relate to Serena because when I went to India, I got a dog for my birthday which but then I unfortunately lost him. I asked my dad if he can go find him for me. It was very kind of him and he went to look for the dog. While my dad was gone to go find the dog, I was very worried and very scared. My dad succeeded and brought the dog back. The first thing I thought of whilst reading this story was my dog because the story is very relatable to my real life experience. My emotions were parallel to Serena. I felt frustrated, stressed, concerned and obviously worried, just like Serena. Also, I feared that my dad wasn't going to be successful in bringing my dog back home safely. Fortunately, he was able to bring him back safe and sound. This book is one of my favorite because it related with my experience of losing my dog. It was a very suspenseful and adventurous novel. If I were to change something in this novel, it would be in the middle of the story. The author states that Serena had a snake too but, I think the author should've changed it into another dog because the author could've showcased an intense relationship between the two days of either love or hatred. The bond would have been an interesting addiction to the story. Also, I would want the dogs to have a very cute relationship.
In conclusion, I would recommend this book to everyone because readers are able to follow through with the novel. It is written in a very simplistic yet unique way that allows readers to grip onto the story without losing interest until the very end. Any individual who enjoys adventure, dogs, friendship, loyalty, bonding, mystery will be an individual who would fall in love with this book post reading it. Overall, I think anyone who genuinely likes reading would think this is a good read.
By: Manjot 806
The Stone Faced Boy is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. It is a very interesting book. This book was about a girl named Serena who finds a dog that she eventually wants to keep as a pet. So, she takes it to her house, to show to her siblings and parents. One day, she finds out that her dog has escaped which leaves her very concerned. She instantly tells her brother, Gus to go do something very terrifying at night. At the end of the story, something very impressive and surprising happened.
The main character in this story was Gus, because the whole story was about his adventure. The other reason why he was the main character is because he was shown as the center of attention as the author wanted you to focus and analyze his character. Finally, he was the person that actually went alone on that terrifying adventure. This story has one major conflict which was Serena losing her dog whom she loves a lot. Also, as I said before the story showed a very terrifying journey that Gus went on. My favorite character in this book is Gus because he did everything and risked his own life for the dog. Also, he was being very loyal to Serena because being her brother; he very much wanted to make her happy. I can relate to Serena because when I went to India, I got a dog for my birthday which but then I unfortunately lost him. I asked my dad if he can go find him for me. It was very kind of him and he went to look for the dog. While my dad was gone to go find the dog, I was very worried and very scared. My dad succeeded and brought the dog back. The first thing I thought of whilst reading this story was my dog because the story is very relatable to my real life experience. My emotions were parallel to Serena. I felt frustrated, stressed, concerned and obviously worried, just like Serena. Also, I feared that my dad wasn't going to be successful in bringing my dog back home safely. Fortunately, he was able to bring him back safe and sound. This book is one of my favorite because it related with my experience of losing my dog. It was a very suspenseful and adventurous novel. If I were to change something in this novel, it would be in the middle of the story. The author states that Serena had a snake too but, I think the author should've changed it into another dog because the author could've showcased an intense relationship between the two days of either love or hatred. The bond would have been an interesting addiction to the story. Also, I would want the dogs to have a very cute relationship.
In conclusion, I would recommend this book to everyone because readers are able to follow through with the novel. It is written in a very simplistic yet unique way that allows readers to grip onto the story without losing interest until the very end. Any individual who enjoys adventure, dogs, friendship, loyalty, bonding, mystery will be an individual who would fall in love with this book post reading it. Overall, I think anyone who genuinely likes reading would think this is a good read.
By: Manjot 806
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2024
I found this book in a Little Free Library. At the outset, I imagined The Stone-Faced Boy being made into a horror film. The details elude me. Only a faint recollection through feeling remains, perfectly subtle - a slow creeping sensation of alienation and doom (terror?). This subsided, as the focus was more on action and other detail.
It occurred to me that every reading of a book is different, even for the same person, as the reading is intertwined with whatever your experience is at the point of review. I was experiencing collapse and upheaval during this read. It's still here.
I don't find the book's characters all that unusual, even though I don't know a family like them. Siblings commonly treat each other caustically, or so I have heard. I do wonder what caused the protagonist to choose a lack outward expression. Self-protection was the reason, I suppose. His younger sister was a bright light, my kind of human (an animal/dog lover!).
I was pleased with some descriptive bits, mostly the protagonist's thoughts, such as this: "He had not known there were so many different kinds of silence, nor that silence could be so loud, could ring like a bell as it had on the meadow, or that it could, as it did here, have a kind of roar in it."
And this: "His own voice sounded peculiar, as though it were melting away like an ice cube in the sink."
And this: "Gus felt a wild flare-up of words in his head, but they staggered and stuttered and then fell into fragments."
And this: "Gus felt, rather than saw, a change in the light. It was very slight, but it was there. Althought the clumps of trees and shed and stone walls still made dense shadows, there was a kind of greyness in the air as though the black had been diluted....
Looking ahead, Gus could make out the windows of home, the horizontal sides of the clapboard siding and the drain pipe which outlined the roof. The night was slipping away, leaving behind it the familiar, ordinary daytime things."
My favorite moment was when, upon sipping (receiving?) her tea, the old infirm woman Gus met, said, "What a treat."
This is a choppy disjointed review, but a review nonetheless. The Stoned-Faced Boy will be placed in another Free Little Library for a child to discover. What a treat.
It occurred to me that every reading of a book is different, even for the same person, as the reading is intertwined with whatever your experience is at the point of review. I was experiencing collapse and upheaval during this read. It's still here.
I don't find the book's characters all that unusual, even though I don't know a family like them. Siblings commonly treat each other caustically, or so I have heard. I do wonder what caused the protagonist to choose a lack outward expression. Self-protection was the reason, I suppose. His younger sister was a bright light, my kind of human (an animal/dog lover!).
I was pleased with some descriptive bits, mostly the protagonist's thoughts, such as this: "He had not known there were so many different kinds of silence, nor that silence could be so loud, could ring like a bell as it had on the meadow, or that it could, as it did here, have a kind of roar in it."
And this: "His own voice sounded peculiar, as though it were melting away like an ice cube in the sink."
And this: "Gus felt a wild flare-up of words in his head, but they staggered and stuttered and then fell into fragments."
And this: "Gus felt, rather than saw, a change in the light. It was very slight, but it was there. Althought the clumps of trees and shed and stone walls still made dense shadows, there was a kind of greyness in the air as though the black had been diluted....
Looking ahead, Gus could make out the windows of home, the horizontal sides of the clapboard siding and the drain pipe which outlined the roof. The night was slipping away, leaving behind it the familiar, ordinary daytime things."
My favorite moment was when, upon sipping (receiving?) her tea, the old infirm woman Gus met, said, "What a treat."
This is a choppy disjointed review, but a review nonetheless. The Stoned-Faced Boy will be placed in another Free Little Library for a child to discover. What a treat.
March 14, 2020
Okay... kind of interesting. But nothing captivating. Not sure kids will just love it as there's not any excitement.
September 5, 2011
This book made me realize how useless some parents are. They've just pooped out child after child ended up with too many to handle, now they don't give them all the full attention and love they need. 3 of the children have very obvious behaviour and personality problems, but not only do they do nothing about it, they seemed to encourage more of it at some point (eg, letting Serena use her brother for stuffs or not correcting their bad behaviours).
Simon seems like a boy who'll grow to have an anger management issue and probably won't think it's wrong since the parents already allow him to be swinging broom sticks around, harming other siblings.
Serena, like all the other children, is very selfish whilst not knowing that she is being very selfish. She brings wild animals into the house and puts them under her captivity. Selfishness and possessiveness is a common behaviour that has to be fixed among young children as they can grow to think they can have whatever they beg for. Most of these creatures belong in the wild but she forces them into the house and the parents doesn't even seem to care whether the animals are dangerous or not. The dog could have been a fight dog and viciously attacked one of the children for all the parents care, all they say is, "not another dog!" and that's it.
Gus also has a very visible problem of not showing his emotions or true feelings but again, the parents don't take him to a psychiatrist or constult to him about it at all. This might not seem like a problem, but the frustration of not being heard of ones feelings can build up and become projected in wrong ways when they grow up.
It might sound very weird, but being able to feel and being able to share feeling is valuable as a social creature. I have a problem with both and I feel the book didn't do much justice in showing the strong inner conflict and problems one can have when their voices are not heard.
Another strong sign that the parents have their priority wrong is when they realise that Gus went out to look for a dog. I know making a fuss of things isn't always great, but as far as I know, it was 2 am in the morning, it was snowing, it was windy and the snow had already piled up quite high. The boy could've easily gotten lost in the dark (and trust me, majority of snowy nights are dark as hell) and frozen to death. Rather than showing their worry and compation, when the boy shows up, they casually say, "I knew you'd find the dog" and that is the end of their recognition of what the boy has done. The parents seemed more ignorant than anything for the boy could've jumped into a fire for all they care. Trust is nice and all, but caring and worrying as a parent is also very important for a child. Serena didn't even get punished for putting her brother in danger, and USING HIM to get what she has lost back. She blatantly shows that she doesn't even care much about the brother when she runs and hugs the dog instead of the boy and doesn't even thank him at all.
The book is a nice, but the attitude of everyone pissed me off.
Simon seems like a boy who'll grow to have an anger management issue and probably won't think it's wrong since the parents already allow him to be swinging broom sticks around, harming other siblings.
Serena, like all the other children, is very selfish whilst not knowing that she is being very selfish. She brings wild animals into the house and puts them under her captivity. Selfishness and possessiveness is a common behaviour that has to be fixed among young children as they can grow to think they can have whatever they beg for. Most of these creatures belong in the wild but she forces them into the house and the parents doesn't even seem to care whether the animals are dangerous or not. The dog could have been a fight dog and viciously attacked one of the children for all the parents care, all they say is, "not another dog!" and that's it.
Gus also has a very visible problem of not showing his emotions or true feelings but again, the parents don't take him to a psychiatrist or constult to him about it at all. This might not seem like a problem, but the frustration of not being heard of ones feelings can build up and become projected in wrong ways when they grow up.
It might sound very weird, but being able to feel and being able to share feeling is valuable as a social creature. I have a problem with both and I feel the book didn't do much justice in showing the strong inner conflict and problems one can have when their voices are not heard.
Another strong sign that the parents have their priority wrong is when they realise that Gus went out to look for a dog. I know making a fuss of things isn't always great, but as far as I know, it was 2 am in the morning, it was snowing, it was windy and the snow had already piled up quite high. The boy could've easily gotten lost in the dark (and trust me, majority of snowy nights are dark as hell) and frozen to death. Rather than showing their worry and compation, when the boy shows up, they casually say, "I knew you'd find the dog" and that is the end of their recognition of what the boy has done. The parents seemed more ignorant than anything for the boy could've jumped into a fire for all they care. Trust is nice and all, but caring and worrying as a parent is also very important for a child. Serena didn't even get punished for putting her brother in danger, and USING HIM to get what she has lost back. She blatantly shows that she doesn't even care much about the brother when she runs and hugs the dog instead of the boy and doesn't even thank him at all.
The book is a nice, but the attitude of everyone pissed me off.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews