Granite Baby

by Lynne Bertrand, Kevin Hawkes

Five giant sisters meet their match in one tiny baby!

Back when folks first discovered granite, five burly sisters ruled the mountains of New Hampshire. No problem was too big for those women. But when one sister carves a real live baby out of granite, a big problem appears that is, you might say, too small.
Lil Fella wailed so much that no one north of the Kancamagus Highway could eat, sleep, or plow. "Do something!" everyone demanded. But what? The five gals, who are strong enough to move mountains, are flummoxed . . . until a young backwoods girl named Nellie offers a small, simple suggestion.

With its droll humor and inventive, witty pictures, this uproarious tall tale is a true original - one not to be missed.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Folklore

36 pages, Hardcover

First published April 6, 2005

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a mother, NH gal, and New Englander most of my life, u thoroughly enjoyed this one! What fun diction, tall tale tone, and excellently imaginative usage of key landmarks in the area. My son & I read this with smirks, and a twang on my tongue, at bedtime. Delightful.

[babyhippoface · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five specially-gifted, larger-than-life sisters find themselves in a pickle when sister Beryl, who is such a gifted stonecutter that her creations come to life, carves a baby out of pink granite. They love Lil Fella but when he cries, they find it impossible to get him to stop. His wails carry across New England all the way to the Pacific Ocean until a backwoods girl named Nellie arrives to take matters--and Lil Fella--into her own hands. This good-natured tall tale set in the Granite State of New Hampshire celebrates wisdom and common sense over talent. Readers will giggle with delight at the sisters’ failed attempts to quiet Lil Fella. Hawkes’ margin-to-margin acrylics humorously juxtapose the giant sisters and the tiny baby. Granite Baby is a lot of fun, a terrific new tall tale for today. Introduce it in a unit on tall tales featuring female heroines.

[Gabrielle Zastrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

By Amanda

In the beginning, the characters are introduced along with their abilities. They explain Beryl was really good at carving. So she carved whatever they wanted. She carved a dog and it peed on the picnic blanket. That was a funny part. Then, her sister, Beryl carved out a little baby and it came to life! Next, the baby was sooooo loud, that you could actually hear and see the letters of the alphabet in the air! Then Beryl said "Shhhh!" The baby was smaller than normal human babies. So this book is a type of Tall Tale because they exaggerate a lot in this book. Then someone took care of the baby, which was all it needed.

[The Book Maven]

Five sisters who ruled the mountains of Vermont and the granite quarries there carve out more problems then they can handle when they create a tiny (and LOUD) granite baby. The storyline was filled with down-home country colliquialisms and vernacular; the layout had a surprising amount of text in it, and the images and artwork reminded me of D'Auliere's Book of Greek Myths. A pleasant enough story, but not one that I would purchase for my own child--simply not compelling enough.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five huge sisters with varying super-skills (ranging from stone cutting to whittling to making stuff with string) end up with a little baby carved from granite. He wails and cries and they try to make him happy, but just don't understand the basics of caring for such a little one. A country girl lends a hand and helps them find their way.

Nice illustrations.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this primarily because of the illustrations. They reminded me of the tall tales by Anne Isaacs for some reason and I read those so I had to read this as well. I wasn't as crazy about this as I was about what they reminded me of, but I was still interested and I enjoyed it.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pictures were attracting, but the text is rather dull.

[Marissa Genta Pineda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute folk tale about five sisters trying to take care of a baby and overdoing everything out of their lack of experience. It made the kids giggle.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

A tall tale about five (giant) sisters who carve granite in New Hampshire's White Mountains. One carves a real live baby, but caring for it turns out to be a greater feat than they can manage.

[Kristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this because as I read the story I remembered the country there from a trip I took last year:) Would be fun for kids who have traveled to NH.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever funny and great illustrations.

[Sandi Prescott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book for introducing tall tales.

[Ariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was a cute idea.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a cute book. Would be fun to use in my classroom.

[Elizabeth Rittenhouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this primarily because of the illustrations.