Magic Porridge Pot

by Paul Galdone

The porridge pot always produces food for the little girl, but it runs amuck when her mother tries to use it.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Food, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Storytime, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Paul Galdone (1907 - November 7, 1986) was a children's literature author and illustrator. He was born in Budapest and he emigrated to the United States in 1921. He studied art at the Art Student's League and New York School for Industrial Design. He served for the US Army during world War II.

He illustrated nearly all of Eve Titus' books including the Basil of Baker Street series which was translated to the screen in the animated Disney film, The Great Mouse Detective.

Galdone and Titus were nominated for Caldecott Medals for Anatole (1957) and Anatole and the Cat (1958). The titles were later named Caldecott Honor books in 1971.

He died of a heart attack in Nyack, New York. He was posthumously awarded the 1996 Kerlan Award for his contribution to children's literature. His retellings of classic tales like "The Little Red Hen" or "Three Billy Goats Gruff" have become staples.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young girl and her mother are in dire straits, with little to eat. The girl heads towards the forest to find some berries, only to encounter an old woman (hunched over with a cane... aren’t they all?), who offers her a magic pot that will make porridge after reciting a certain command. The pot will also stop when another command is given, but only if the words are recited in the proper order. The girl takes it home and tries it, leaving her never to feel the pangs of hunger again. When out one day, the mother is home alone and wants to try the pot out for herself. She is able to activate it, but when trying to stop the porridge production, she encounters an issue. By the end, a truckload of brown sugar would surely have been needed in this nameless town. Neo loved the story and hopes that we can have some warn cereal in the morning. He promises to let me know when to STOP!

[Ronyell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now, I had read many folktales that dealt with the main characters getting a magic pot that gives them endless food, but then they keep forgetting the magic words that would stop the pot from giving them more food, which usually ends up in disaster for the main characters. But, I must admit that I was surprised that there was another folktale out there that dealt with this situation and this story is called “The Magic Porridge Pot” by Paul Galdone!

In this story, a little girl and her mother were so poor that they only had a small piece of bread to satisfy their hunger. One day, the little girl ends up going into the forest to find some food when she meets an old woman, who gives her a magic porridge pot that would sprout out porridge whenever a person says these words:

“Boil, Little Pot, Boil!”

However, in order to stop the porridge from rising too much from the pot, the person would have to say these words:

“Stop, Little Pot, Stop!”

So, the little girl and her mother were able to have enough to eat everyday with the magic porridge pot, until one day, the little girl went to visit her friend, leaving her mother alone with the magic porridge pot. The mother then decided to get some more porridge from the magic pot, but unfortunately, she did not remember the words to stop the porridge from rising in the pot and the porridge ended up flooding the entire village!

Will the little girl save the village from the porridge in time?

Read this book to find out!

Paul Galdone did a pretty interesting take on the classic tall tale from the Low Countries of Breughel’s time and I really liked the fact that this story involved magic and humor that dealt with taking responsibility for your own actions as it made the premise pretty interesting to read through. But probably the best part about this book were Paul Galdone’s illustrations as the characters and the environment that they are in look a bit scratchy and yet, are extremely detailed and brilliantly shows the humorous and intense situation of the porridge flooding the village! I also loved the way that Paul Galdone drew the villagers’ outfits as they look like they came out of the Renaissance Age and they really bring an old fashioned feel to the story.

The reason why I gave this book a three star rating was because while I liked the premise of this book, I felt that I had actually read this story before (Strega Nona anyone)? I also felt that this type of story was handled a bit better in “Strega Nona” since the characters in “Strega Nona” were more fleshed out than the characters in this book. The characters in this book just felt so flat to me that I could not really get invested into this story and I wished that the characters in this book were fleshed out better so that I could have enjoyed this story more.

Overall, “The Magic Porridge Pot” might have a pretty interesting premise, but the story slightly suffered from lack of character development that made it hard for me to be interested in the overall story in this book.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could see youngsters remembering the magic words and thinking how silly of the mother. Cute! And as always, wonderful illustrations from Galdone.

Ages: 3 - 7

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

5* art
5* story

I'm a fan of Paul Galdone, so my rating is no surprise. But more importantly, Squirt likes yelling "Stop, little pot, Stop!!!" when no one in the story can remember what to say to make it stop. And the idea of porridge running down the street and people eating it off the ground is just weird enough to keep his attention throughout.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, but not too short, so the perfect little read aloud. Paul Galdone's great illustrations; the only thing missing from the 16th century Dutch village in which he sets the story are Smurfs (or maybe Gnomes).

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a mother and daughter that live on the edge of a town at the edge of the Black Forest in Germany. The daughter goes out to find berries so that they have something to eat. She ends up with a little black pot that makes porridge. Her mother uses it when she leaves one day and does not know what to say to make the pot stop. This is similar to the pasta pot in Strega Nona.

This story had been passed down from generation to generation with many different variations in different countries in central Europe. This makes this piece traditional literature.

This book can be used with Strega Nona as a venn diagram. Can use for comparing and contrasting cultures. It can be used for the morals of the story and it can be used for supply and demand in social studies and over population in science.

[Kristi Maurer · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The Magic Porridge Pot” by Paul Galdone is a book where the title tells you what you will find in the tale. When a mother and her little girl run out of food, the girl goes out to the forest to find something to eat. Instead, she comes across an old woman who gives her a magic pot and tells her to use magic words so she will never be hungry again. She also gives her a magic command to get the pot to stop making porridge. When she and her mother are hungry, the girl commands the pot, “Boil, Little Pot, Boil.” The pot makes porridge. They eat until they are full and the little girl again commands the pot, “Stop, Little Pot, Stop” and it stops making the porridge. One day when the little girl is away, the mother becomes hungry and commands the little pot to boil her some porridge. However, she does not remember the command to get the pot to stop. Porridge comes out of the pot, into the house, and into the village. There is enough to feed the people for days. The little girl comes home and commands the pot to stop. It does. She later returns the pot to the old hag. The magic of the book will intrigue most youngsters. It really opens up the imagination. This book would probably be more meaningful for children who know what it feels like to go without food. I liked this book, however, not as much as some of the other children’s tales I have read. It is too short to be able to connect with the characters. And, the older woman seems scary for little children (she looks like the witch used in older versions of the book). I would use this book in my classroom with older students to expose them to early fairytales. It could be used to teach phonics to younger children, but I personally would not choose it.

[Christina Leone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Galdone (1976). This folktale’s target audience would be 7-8 year olds who are becoming independent readers. The theme is appropriate for these ages as is the font and word spacing. Some vocabulary could be pre-taught (porridge, vanished, halt, cease, waded) so as not to interfere with comprehension. Some of pen and ink illustrations are not primary-age friendly as a little girl walks along through a dark wooded forest coming across and old woman (what appears to be a witch) wearing a long dark cloak carrying a large black, what comes to be, magic pot. The little girl, who is so poor, living with her mother in a small cottage often has nothing to eat but a “small piece of bread.” When the magic pot is given to her, she readily accepts it with the instructions of giving specific commands of how to make it work. When her mother attempts to use the pot in the girl’s absence, she forgets the command of “stop, Little Pot, stop!” Mayhem ensues as the pot over flows covering the entire small village in porridge. The illustrations now become bright and cheerful as the villagers come out “carrying dippers, spoons, cups, bowls, buckets, platters, pans, plates, and pitchers.” The entire village feasts. “After that, the little girl and her mother and the people of the village never went hungry.”
MOTIF: MAGIC ITEM

[Malorie Lofgreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A woman and her daughter do not have much food to eat when suddenly the young girl finds an old woman in the forest. She gives her a magic pot that will feed her and her mother with plenty of porridge to survive. The little girl has the control of the magic pot and can tell it when to cook and when to stop. One day, the mother gets hungry and the daughter is not there to make her porridge with the magical words. The tale takes a turn when the mother cannot get the pot to stop overflowing with porridge.

[Samantha Penrose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dare I say that I like The Magic Porridge Pot better than Strega Nona?!
I like that this version offers an explanation as to the origin, and purpose of the magic pot. A mysterious old woman in the forest gave the pot to a poor little girl, so that she and her mother need never be hungry again.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

We are familiar with this tale from "Latkes Latkes Good to Eat" and I had no idea it was a part of a larger genre actually. Bea figured it out from the first page and predicted it was going to be the same - and it was. We liked it anyway but I'd eat latkes over porridge anyday!

[Chiv · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was one of the old books that I used to read over and over again. I was such a more avid reader as a child. I can't seem to remember any books from my childhood :(

Anywhere, this book is recommended to anyone who loves a good children's classic.

[Miri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story similar to Strega Nona. The magic porridge pot will make endless porridge but you need the magic words, which works great until the little girl's mother forgets them and the pot won't stop making porridge! It's been years since I've read this but I still remember it.

[Nora · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really sure what the moral was supposed to be here. Share or your neighbors will find out & you will have to share anyway? Be nice to strange people in the woods? I like the Mickey Mouse version better--at least there was a villain to dislike!

[L.A. James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I consider this a classic. Maybe just a classic for me as I have read it to each of my kids, and I don't get tired of the tale.

I also like to use this book to point out the fact that when one is truly hungry, one is thankful for any type of food.

[Marge]

food keeps on coming -

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

young children's classic

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

a story of acceptance and reliance

[Lesley Looper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story about a mother and daughter whose lives take a positive turn when the girl brings home a magic pot.

[Fjóla · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tale of the Magic Porridge Pot given solid treatment by Paul Galdone

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminds me of something that would happen if my mom tried to use it too!

[Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this version of the Magic Pot story, with a less complex storyline (no villain stealing the pot) with all the greatness that Galdone always delivers.

[Stacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little story about a magic porridge pot! Sometimes you can judge a book by its cover!!

[Dianne Deville · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my childhood favorites.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is folktale after folktale that follows this same plot of a magic pot or jar that grants unlimited food when a special phrase is said or sung and stops producing it only when the correct phrase or song is given. A couple examples come to mind: Strega Nona by Tomie DePaola and the Filipino folktale “Why the Ocean is Salty” (I heard this version on the story podcast Circle Round). This is another charming version of that story and it would be fun to round up a few different versions and do a comparison with kids.

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young girl is given a magical porridge pot but her mother can't remember the magic words to make the magic stop and causes an overflow of plentiful porridge.

Read for B&R-1st, LA

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this one!

[Albana Bregu · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story that will make children laugh and understand the importance of following instructions.

[Saumen · Rating 3 out of 5]

বাচ্চাদের বই পুরোই। এক্কেবারে ছোট বাচ্চাদের খাওয়াবার সময় ছবি দেখানোর কাজে ইউজ করা যেতে পারে।😆😆

[Saffron Moon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This rating is for the edition adapted and illustrated by Paul Galdone.