The Great Stone Face

Summary: "Do you know the prophecy?" asked Pastor Hooper. Ethan nodded. "Someone will be born hereabouts who will look just like the Great Stone Face, and he will be the noblest person of his time." Ethan grows up in the shadow of The Great Stone Face. With everyone else in his village, he waits and wonders who will fulfill the prophecy. One by one, men of wealth and power are believed to be the likeness of the Great Stone Face, but as the years go by each one disappoints. Ethan begins to believe the prophecy will not be fulfilled in his lifetime, until a young child, seeing more deeply than all the rest, reveals the truth . . . Gary Schmidt's retelling of this classic story by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a moving look at the nature of goodness and a life well-lived. And Bill Farnsworth has beautifully captured the period and the tale's New England setting with images in the tradition of the Golden Age of Illustration. Accelerated reader quiz available. For more information, see www.renaissancelearning.com. Quotes:AwardsForeWord Magazine Book of the Year AwardsFinalist, Children's Picture Book (2002)Reviews The Horn Book Guide“Schmidt uses elegant language to retell Hawthorne’s story about New Hampshire’s Great Stone Face and Ethan, who grows to manhood and fulfills the prophecy associated with the granite outcropping — a local born in the area who resembles the face will be the noblest person of his time. Lush oil paintings, reminiscent of N. C. Wyeth’s, beautifully capture the setting.”