Hammer Soup

by Ingrid Schubert, Dieter Schubert

Kate lives in a nice, tidy little house and keeps busy doing chores, but she's not exactly friendly. When Bruce decides to build a home next door, all that banging infuriates her. He offers her dandelion tea, but she says no. How about fishing? No! Soon winter is upon them. While Kate is warm and well fed in her home, Bruce is shivering and hungry in his shack. How the two eventually bond over Bruce's unusual ""hammer soup"" makes for an enchanting, vividly drawn tale of unexpected friendship and the joy of sharing.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 9, 2004

About the author

Ingrid Schubert is a German author who writes children's books together with her husband, Dieter Schubert.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Schuberts are a new discovery for me. So far I'm loving their artwork, and am intrigued by their stories.

This one is two fables in one: Ant & Grasshopper, then Stone Soup.
I'm sure the authors could have written a brand-new story, but fables are great because they give readers something to think about, and families something to discuss.

The former I've never appreciated (in part, because the different tellers don't agree on the moral), so it's interesting to see how the Schuberts handled it. I won't spoil it by telling you, but I will say that I approve.

The latter fable I love, but the success of it, imo, is dependent on whether we're likely to believe that the owner of the kettle is so easily fooled by the owner of the stone (or hammer). In this case, I don't buy it... unless we decide that the owner of the kettle is trying not to be cynical and wanting to cooperate.

Two questions, though, especially for any Dutch readers. Does it make sense that Kate's cat looks like it's half-raccoon? And does it make sense that Kate hangs her 1/2-worn day clothes on a dressmaker's dummy? (I know airing, rather than washing, 1/2-worn clothes is smart, but we just use hooks.)

[Ugnė Lukošienė · Rating 5 out of 5]

Labai gražios iliustracijos!
Patiko apie tai kaip vystėsi mergaitės ir jos kaimyno draugystė :)

[Nancy Prater · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute art, but it felt unoriginal, since it's basically a "Ant and the Grasshopper" and "Stone Soup" mash-up. I felt like the development of the story and characters was lacking.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Variation of Stone Soup. Nice colorful illustrations.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brightly illustrated with detail.
Reminds me of Stone Soup.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very loose re-telling of the Ant and the Grasshopper. Only in this story the ant (Kate) become friends with the grasshopper (Bruce). Makes me want to make soup sans the hammer. Nice drawings with lots to look at.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit like Wombat Stew, except that stew became more and more inedible whereas this soup becomes delicious.