Quill Soup by Alan Durant

Quill Soup Reviews

• 
  Hilary

  The artwork is lovely, would make beautiful fabric print, it was a busy and overwhelming in places, it made it hard to follow the story but it was really interesting to look at.
  
  The story is a South African version of stone soup. I've read too many stone soup stories to enjoy this greatly, but it was a nice enough retelling and I'm sure this would be a fun read for children.
• 
  Val

  I really like the art style but honestly it was a little overwhelming and made it hard for me to process the story/what was happening in the pictures.
• 
  Kathleen Dixon

  This is a re-telling of the old European folk tale Stone Soup (except maybe it isn't actually a folk tale but perhaps an original by Madame de Noyer (1663–1719) and first published in 1720 - see
  this interesting article) that almost everyone knows. The one thing I thought this publication could have done better is to put that on the front cover. I didn't read the publisher details page, started reading the book, and thought, "This is Stone Soup!" with a bit of "They stole the story!" But I'm putting that aside.
  
  This book is gorgeous. The illustrations are fabulous, and using animals for the characters is an idea that appeals well to the age group that this book is fashioned for. Very nice.
• 
  Aolund

  This was a great and satisfying "stone soup" variant! When Noko the Porcupine comes to town, nobody will share their food with him until he starts to cook "Quill Soup," which he tells the townspeople that he's made for the King. Suddenly they are eager to share their food so that they might taste this regal meal. The illustrations are wild and entrancing, a feast for the eyes. All of the characters are animals.
  
  Themes: Sharing, Community, Cooking, Food
  Age range: 3-10
• 
  A Severs

  So much to look at in these amazing illustrations and a story to really make you think. My reception-aged daughter and I spent a lot of time poring over Quill Soup looking for animals hidden in the wilds of the pictures and picking up clues about how honest the animals were really being. A brilliant reselling of Stone Soup.
• 
  Edward Sullivan

  In this retelling of the "Stone Soup" folktale, the stranger who comes to the village is a porcupine named Noko. The vibrant, richly layered art by South African illustrator Dale Blankenaar use stylized, blocky shapes and bold shades of red, blue, yellow, green, and black to depict an environment teeming with biodiversity.
• 
  Kathryn

  Quill Soup, as the title explains, is a Stone Soup story. In the story, a porcupine traveler asks villagers for food but they all turn him away. Porcupine has a plan and begins making the King's favorite soup. When the villagers hear the King loves it, they quickly find the ingredients needed. This rendition comes from South Africa and the illustrations are all also made by a South African.
• 
  Rebecca Anne

  I love Stone Soup, and this was an excellent cultural retelling. The illustrations are detailed and a little abstract. I liked how you could see the animals eating the food inside their houses that they had claimed not to have.
• 
  Julie

  The illustrations! Gorgeous.
• 
  Jean

  Great retelling of the classic stone soup story. Beautiful, colorful illustrations that kept my 5 year old engaged.
• 
  Tonya

  (for children's lit)
• 
  Megan Wagner

  I like this version of stone soup. The illustrations are fun!
• 
  Ellon

  4 stars (I really liked it)
  
  This was a great version of Stone Soup! The illustrations are so colorful and inviting.
• 
  Mandy

  Folktale retelling. In this version of Stone Soup, a porcupine has been traveling and wants to rest and get some food. However, none of the animals will give him any food. So he starts quill soup, which he has made for the king. Hearing this, the animals are curious and all of a suden able to find food. When everybody comes together, they are able to make a delicious quill soup that feeds everyone. I liked the idea of retelling this tale with animals. The illustrations are quite unique, done in a limited color palette and almost abstract manner. Looking closely at them, you can see into the animal homes and see all of the food they have but are not sharing. I especially liked when porcupine visited the monkeys and asked for spare food, you can see a bag literally labeled "spare food" right inside the door. As with the original, this is a great book to discuss strength in community. It would also be cool to tie this in with an art project using the same color scheme.
• 
  Rebecca Gomez

  A lovely, colorful retelling of the folktale Stone Soup.
• 
  Sorca

  This is a witty tale with a brilliant message about the importance of sharing our resources and welcoming strangers. Despite the other animals being suspicious of Noko the porcupine because he is a stranger, the resourceful character manages to win over the entire village with his cooking skills! The illustrations are so vibrant and striking - they make the story come alive! The tale is based on the African version of Stone Soup and you can see that inspiration come through in the bold, kaleidoscopic illustrations!
• 
  Tia Schmidt

  An interesting and modern take on the classic "Stone Soup" tale. Very cute and sweet. I also really liked the art style of this, but I do think it has the potential to be overwhelming for someone with sensory overload. It can be a bit much on some pages so be wary of that before going into it. Besides that though, this is a very nice story!