The Amazing Bone

by William Steig

Can Pearl, a pig, and her new friend, a small talking bone, outwit a band of robbers and a hungry fox?



The Amazing Bone is a 1976 New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year and Outstanding Book of the Year, a 1977 Caldecott Honor Book, and a 1977 Boston Globe - Horn Book Awards Honor Book for Picture Books.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Fantasy, Animals, Magic, Juvenile

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1976

About the author

William Steig was born in New York City in 1907. In a family where every member was involved in the arts, it was not surprising that Steig became an artist.

He published his first children's book, Roland the Minstrel Pig, in 1968, embarking on a new and very different career.

Steig's books reflect his conviction that children want the security of a devoted family and friends. When Sylvester, Farmer Palmer, Abel, Pearl, Gorky, Solomon, and Irene eventually get home, their families are all waiting, and beginning with Amos & Boris, friendship is celebrated in story after story.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/willia...

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is about Pearl the Pig. She is having the best spring afternoon ever. She is enjoying life after school walking all over until she comes to rest in the forest listening to the sounds and looking at the soft spring colors. She finds a bone that talks, it really talks and it’s smart. She and the bone decide to partner and off she goes home. Here the story gets dangerous. 1st, she is attacked by robbers and the bone scares them off. Then, she is captured by a fox and taken home to be eaten. The bone does not scare the fox one bit. He thinks it is marvelous. Pearl is terrified of being eaten. Finally, when Pearl is about to be slaughtered, the bone saves the day.

William Steig has a wicked imagination and he puts the reader in a dangerous situation. He is a bold author. I enjoy his pictures of spring and how soft the world is. I enjoy Pearl and how much she appreciates nature around her. I enjoyed this story.

This story caused a little bit of fear in the niece. She said she liked the story anyway. She gave this 4 stars. The nephew thought it was great fun. He knew that the fox would gobble up Pearl. I have seen my nephew be genuinely concerned when something gets hurt and he doesn’t like to watch things suffer or die on nature programs. He does feel things, but he can have a wicked sense of humor with books and life. He was glad that Pearl was saved and he thought that bone was pretty awesome. He said, there’s no such thing as a talking bone, is there? I said, likely not, but it’s a big strange world. He gave the story 5 stars.

[Mir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pearl, a young pig, is wandering around after school, daydreaming and enjoying nature, when she happens to meet... a bone. A friendly, talkative bone who has escaped from a grumpy witch and is looking for a better home. Pearl and the bone quickly make friends, but will friendship be enough to get them safely through the dangerous woods?

[Ronyell · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Amazing Bone” is another classic from William Steig and is also the most dramatic book due to the main character being put into peril in a number of cases. William Steig’s hand-drawn illustrations and his intense yet soothing storytelling makes this book an instant treat to enjoy.

“The Amazing Bone” sets the perfect storyline about the power of friendship and the dangers of the outside world to a child. William Steig dramatically tells how some strangers are dangerous to children by depicting a young pig that meets many dangerous strangers in the woods and nearly has died on both accounts. William Steig’s storytelling also brilliantly depicts of how important it is to walk home with somebody who will protect you, such as the bone coming along with Pearl and protecting her from all the dangerous strangers she has met. Another main aspect of this book is William Steig’s beautiful illustrations, as he illustrates the forest and the flowers with many vibrant colors that make the forest look beautiful and realistic.

Parents should know that there are many intense scenes in this book, such as Pearl being harassed by three robbers who threaten to kill her if she did not hand over her purse and the fox kidnapping Pearl and taking her to his hideaway so that he could cook Pearl into a main course dinner. Since many children today are being harassed and kidnapped by unsuspecting strangers, this book may be too much for children to handle and parents should try to explain to their children that it is always good to travel with someone if one does not know the place very well, so that the person will try their best to protect the child from any danger.

“The Amazing Bone” is a wonderful experience for children to see how it is dangerous to walk in an unsuspecting place alone and how friendship is strong enough to conquer the most dangerous criminals. This book is probably one of William Steig’s most notable books due to it winning a Caldecott Honor Medal and this book does deserve that medal. Even though this book is a treat for many children, parents may want to talk to their children about strangers before reading them this book.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

[Luisa Knight · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hmm. I honestly don't know what to think of this story. Perhaps more so, I'm not sure what to *make* of the story! It's incredibly bizarre. Incredibly. If you've read it, what do you think the message is? Or is there just not one?

Ages: 5 - 9

Cleanliness: mentions tobacco juice. The bone previously belonged to a witch and at the end of the story, casts a spell (fairy tale like magic). There are robbers with Halloween masks and they point guns at the main character. Later, the main character gets kidnapped by a wolf who wishes to eat her (similarly to Beatrix Potter's Jemima Puddle Duck story). "Shut up" and "oh my goodness" are said.

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[Nicky · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t believe this story has aged well. It is engaging and an exciting story, very creative too. But. I had to edit while I was reading. Some scenes not suitable for young children, in my opinion. Gun. Tobacco use. Violence.

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kids books, like any kind of literature, can vary widely, but, let's face it, most of them are shit. Then, every once in a while you find one that is supremely challenging to everything that you thought possible in kids' literature and literature and general. Something that tears down assumptions of what is trope and what is not, something that breaks downs the very thin border between surrealism and children's literature, something that in its sheer lunacy transcends the hazy line separating human from deity. The Amazing Bone is one of these books.
Pearl the pig dawdles her way home. In the forest she lazes about savoring nature and declaring "I love everything!". Then she hears a voice expressing the same sentiment. It is the bone, a talking bone that had escaped from the clutches of an evil witch. The bone, it tells her, is able to replicate every human language and every known sound. Pearl loves the bone dearly, and it loves her. On the way home, they are set upon by highwaymen who literally press their guns to Pearl's forehead and demand her cash until the bone imitates the sound of ferocious beasts and scares them off. A fucking sadistic fox finds her next and, embracing her, abducts her to his home to eat her. The bone has no effect on him. Pearl, she tells the bone, has just begun to live and does not want to die. The bone says they will perish together, the best of friends. As the fox plus cutlery descends upon her, the bone begins speaking in tongues transforming the fox into a mouse-sized fox and they escape. He learned this subconsciously from the witch, says the bone. And all is well.
This is such a damn wacky book that it is hard to compare with anything or characterize as anything other than the sort of thing the discerning reader would expect to find in the words of Soupault or Lautreaumont, perhaps?

[Donna Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Steig was an amazing writer who used an outsized vocabulary to create children's books that adults would enjoy reading aloud. The best audience is the gifted child, someone that is still young enough to like a good picture book but that isn't bewildered by text. My favorite Steig book is Dr. DeSoto, which was the "it" book for my elder daughter when she was small, but everything he put his hand to was solid.

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3*art
3*story

Steig is so unique. So unlike anyone else. He may not be riveting in this particular story, but he's always flavourful. How many stories are there about a talking bone, anyway? Squirt liked it. The idea of a talking bone didn't faze him one iota.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok. Kind of goofy. On banned/ challenged list.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am actually here to praise the audio book of "The Amazing Bone" specifically. The book itself is great, but the audio book is really perfect. I would say four and a half stars for the book, but five for the audio book. John Lithgow does the narration and he nails the various voices, especially the bone. Just the best. This is also such a great example of the weirdness of William Steig. "Doctor De Soto" for example, is a really great book but not as delightfully weird as "The Amazing Bone." We listened to this two or three times on the most recent long drive. We had a bunch of books but this was the best.

[Jason Pym · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Steig's illustrations, and these are wonderful.

The story though is wierd and disturbing, and not something I would read to children. Where does the bone come from? What dead creature? Why does it talk? Why keep it as a friend on the mantelpiece? Then there are the robbers with the gun to pigs head, the fox dragging the pig out to be eaten ('I regret having to do this to you...') all really off. I get that this could be used to teach children about stranger-danger, but then the ending is a hand-waving, deus-ex-machina magic spell which is hollow comfort and a bad message.

[Amber the Human · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up for my five-year-old. It looked a bit long and wordy for him, so I decided to look through it first before reading it to him. Came across the section where the main character is robbed at gunpoint (well, attempted) ... decided against reading it to the five-year-old. I'm sure we'll get there eventually ... I would just rather hold off.

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that William Steig consistently creates better than almost anybody else. It's a picture book, yes, but it's built on a subtly intellectual foundation, and it's a completely told story, smoothly unfolding from beginning to end.

I can certainly see how The Amazing Bone would have received official attention from the Caldecott committee in 1977. The artwork in the book is some of William Steig's finest, coating the pages with rich color and a kind of life that seems to practically move with the story. The narrative is well-imagined and humorous, with a few striking points that will remain in the reader's mind well after reading the book.

The format of The Amazing Bone reminds me of a combination of two other William Steig books, Zeke Pippin and Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. Pearl goes out into the forest one day and happens upon a small, magical bone that can somehow actually speak. The bone belonged to a witch, it informs Pearl, and aside from its ability to speak (in multiple languages, no less), it is also capable of mimicking virtually any sound it hears.

When Pearl and her magic speaking bone are captured by a malicious fox, it takes more than cunning to free them both from a terrible fate in the creature's vulpine belly; it takes a different talent that the bone has, one that it didn't even know it possessed, to level out the playing field and give Pearl and her unusual companion a chance to win.

This is a very good book, in my opinion. William Steig's writing hits the mark as always, delivering lines that are both thoughtful and surprisingly comical. One of my personal favorites is when the fox first spots the talking bone, and says, "A talking bone. I've always wanted to own something of this sort." I would give two and a half stars to The Amazing Bone.

[Linda Lipko]

Move over Maurice Sendak, Steig could have shown you one or two things about how to frighten a child with the words and illustrations of his book!

Cute little Pink Pig Pearl wanders in the forest on an absolutely perfect day. Finding a talking bone, she is not frightened, but rather is amused and puts the bone in her purse to carry home.

Traveling home she comes upon three nasty mask wearing critters with guns and knives. One image shows the evil masked critter places the gun right next to Pearl's head. When the bone growled and then hissed like a snake, the near do wells hurry to flee.

A short time later, Pearl meets a dandy Fox, wearing a suit and leering with his sharp teeth.
Unafraid of the bone and Pearl, he escorts them to his raggle taggle house where he intends to eat Polly. Again, there are more images of sharp knives and imminent danger.

The bone uses magic words to shrink the fox and he fled into a mouse hole.

Pearls parents, who were worried about her, are happy to see her home. Pearl and the bone are welcomed and live happy ever after.

Interesting to note, and not surprising to learn, this book is on a banned list because of the terror, violence and images of guns and knives.

[Haley Elliston · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for a "Gardening and Literature" class I took for my MA degree at the University of Maine. The class itself was really unique in that we discussed our readings while planting a labyrinth garden on University grounds. This particular book was part of our children's lit. reads, and was fun to explore as an adult reader. Ultimately, this story is a very typical fairy tale. It reads like a combination of the Grimm's Fairy Tale "The Singing Bone" and "Little Red Riding Hood" - the pig, Pearl, finds a singing bone and, on her way home, comes across a big bad wolf who intends to devour them but is outwitted by the bone.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say I like this quirky little story better than Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. It’s clever and creative, and even though it doesn’t seem to make much sense at first, I grew to love the talking bone as much as Pearl does. The robbers with their masks, guns, and daggers are plenty scary and seem more violent than a lot of imagery in picture books nowadays, but I think kids would be less troubled by it than their parents. It seemed like a bit of a cop-out that the bone just magically knew the words to get Pearl out of trouble with the fox at the last minute, but if a bone can talk, I suppose it can do anything else it wants, too!

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook as bedtime read during banned book week. Jonathan Lithgow did a great narrating job. It was a favorite childhood story, so it was fun to listen as an adult. It holds up well.
Pearl the pig is deeply enjoying a beautiful day on her way home from school when she discovers a magic talking bone. They become immediate friends and Pearl puts the bone in her purse. It helps her foil a gang of robbers and outwit a hungry fox (tho that’s a very near thing) before becoming part of her family. It’s one of those book narrations with sound effects, but they work well.
The illustrations in the actual book are a lot of fun.
4-5 stars.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very strange story. We listened to it being narrated on audiocassette by John Lithgow as we followed along with the book, and with his amazing storytelling skills, we were transfixed by the story. After we listened to it, I read it again and realized that it really is a very strange tale. Overall, though, the illustrations are great, the story is entertaining and we really enjoyed the audio version of this book.

[Barbra R · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story that makes anything seem possible, and any problem solvable. The main character is the epitome of carefree happiness and wonder towards the world, and strangely, the other character is a talking bone that ends up saving the day. The forest setting that brings about an uncaring wolf to eat them is classic, but anything else about the story is not, which gives it a great twist and makes one giggle.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was kind of weird. I gave it three stars because my son seemed to enjoy it, but personally I felt it deserved only two.

A pig finds a talking bone. Robbers try to steal it from her--the illustration shows them with a gun to her head! Then a fox steals it and attempts to cook and eat the pig, but of course the pig and bone escape. The ending is nothing special.

[Rachel C · Rating 1 out of 5]

First, a talking magical bone? Just plain weird. Makes me think the author was high on something in the 1970s when he wrote it. Second, when I got to the illustrations of the highway robbers with daggers and pistols, I closed the book and decided it was not appropriate for children. How can this be a Caldecott award winning book for children and chosen by Reading Rainbow? Come on. I think not.

[Patricia A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Sofiya (4 years old) - this is an amazing story about a bone who is nice and funny. He became part of Pearl's family because he was amazing. He frightened the robbers that were about to hurt Pearl and he also saved her life from that rude rude fox. He lived very very very happily ever after with Pearl and her family.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I had never read this book before! This book has practically everything: Excitement, adventure, chills, magic, etc., all concluded with a small, but not to subtle, message. What a lovely book.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of horrific but brilliant. So raw and honest.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for a well-dressed fox and a somewhat daft pig with rad facial expressions. The ending was great, and my kids liked comparing it to other examples of traditional literature.

[Jennarae Quesenberry · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated this book. I know it is older, but it had really unusual situations that I thought were creepy and not suitable for children.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one we really liked. We'll definitely look for more stories by William Steig.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great picture book that I'm sure I would have loved as a kid. It's very, very weird and also super dark, but it's hilarious and sweet, too. And the pictures are beautiful.

[MelMon Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very unlikely friendship and a new adventure.

[Mei-Ling · Rating 3 out of 5]

surprisingly violent...but "the seventies were a different time" according to Kricket :)