The Wretched Stone

Last updated
The Wretched Stone
The Wretched Stone (Chris Van Allsburg book) cover art.jpg
Author Chris Van Allsburg
Illustrator Chris Van Allsburg
Genre Children's, Fantasy novel
Publisher Houghton Mifflin
Publication date
1991
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardcover)
Pages32
ISBN 0-395-53307-4
OCLC 23356228
Preceded by Just a Dream  
Followed by The Widow's Broom  

The Wretched Stone is a children's picture book written and illustrated by the American author Chris Van Allsburg. It serves as an allegory for the dangers of watching television.

Contents

Plot summary

This book is told in a 'journal' format, as it takes place over the course of May 8 to July 12 of an unspecified year.

Told from the perspective of Captain Randall Ethan Hope, the crew of the Rita Anne left for a voyage, enjoying each other's company. About a month later, they find a strange, glowing, cubic stone on a smelly, exotic island without animals. After taking the strange object aboard their ship, the crew becomes obsessed with the stone, abandoning many of their former interests and leaving the captain wondering how to shake the crew out of their stupor. Gradually, the glowing stone turns the entire crew, except the captain, into grinning apes. Afterwards, the Rita Anne nearly sinks due to a storm. When the stone stops glowing, the captain reverts the crew back to normal by playing violin and reading to them. On June 30th, they are rescued by another ship that drops them off at a harbor in Santa Pengal. The captain decided to burn the ship and send it to the bottom of the ocean, taking the stone with it. In Santa Pangol, each crew member finds a ship to return home, though some of them still have some aftereffects of the stone, as they like bananas a lot.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Kidd</span> Scottish privateer (1654–1701)

William Kidd, also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd, was a Scottish privateer. Conflicting accounts exist regarding his early life, but he was likely born in Dundee and later settled in New York City. By 1690, Kidd had become a highly successful privateer, commissioned to protect English interests in North America and the West Indies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Van Allsburg</span> American childrens writer and illustrator (born 1949)

Chris Van Allsburg is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. He has won two Caldecott Medals for U.S. picture book illustration, for Jumanji (1981) and The Polar Express (1985), both of which he also wrote, and were later adapted as successful motion pictures. He was also a Caldecott runner-up in 1980 for The Garden of Abdul Gasazi. For his contribution as a children's illustrator, he was a 1986 U.S. nominee for the biennial International Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international recognition for creators of children's books. He received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Michigan in April 2012.

<i>Jumanji</i> (picture book) Childrens book by Chris Van Allsburg

Jumanji is a 1981 fantasy children's picture book written and illustrated by American author Chris Van Allsburg. The book is about an enchanted board game that incorporates wild animals and other jungle elements as the game is played in real life. The book was adapted into a 1995 film of the same name and spawned a franchise that includes three sequels and an animated series.

<i>The Polar Express</i> 1985 childrens book by Chris Van Allsburg

The Polar Express is a 1985 fantasy children's picture book written and illustrated by American author Chris Van Allsburg. The book is now widely considered to be a classic Christmas story for young children. It was praised for its detailed illustrations and calm, relaxing storyline. For the work, Van Allsburg won the annual Caldecott Medal for illustration of an American children's picture book in 1986, his second after Jumanji.

<i>Zathura</i> 2002 illustrated childrens book by Chris Van Allsburg

Zathura is a 2002 science fiction children's picture book written and illustrated by American author Chris Van Allsburg. In the story, implied to be set in the 1950s, two brothers; Danny and Walter Budwing are drawn into an intergalactic space adventure when their house is magically hurled through space. The book is a sequel to the 1981 children's book Jumanji, also by Van Allsburg, and visual and textual references are made to "Jumanji" in the story. The book was adapted into a film, titled Zathura: A Space Adventure, in 2005.

<i>The Twisted Claw</i> 1939 book by Franklin W. Dixon

The Twisted Claw is Volume 18 in the original The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories published by Grosset & Dunlap.

<i>Doraemon: Nobita Drifts in the Universe</i> 1999 film by Tsutomu Shibayama

Doraemon: Nobita Drifts in the Universe is the 1999 Japanese animated epic space opera film. It is the second Doraemon film released after Hiroshi Fujimoto's departure, based on the 19 volume of the same name of the Doraemon Long Stories series. This is the third movie solely produced by Fujiko Production following The Record of Nobita's Parallel Visit to the West (1988) and Nobita's Great Adventure in the South Seas (1998). This movie commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Doraemon film series during its end credits showcasing a piece of artwork of it and all films released prior. It was released on March 6, 1999, together with Doraemon: Nobita's the Night Before a Wedding and Funny Candy of Okashinana!?. It is the 20th Doraemon film.

<i>The Mysteries of Harris Burdick</i> 1984 picture book by Van Allsburg

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick is a 1984 picture book by the American author Chris Van Allsburg. It consists of a series of images, ostensibly created by Harris Burdick, a man who has mysteriously disappeared. Each image is accompanied by a title and a single line of text, which encourage readers to create their own stories. Many famous writers have tried to put their own twists on the pictures.

<i>Zathura: A Space Adventure</i> 2005 film by Jon Favreau

Zathura: A Space Adventure is a 2005 American science fiction action-adventure film directed by Jon Favreau. It is an adaptation of the 2002 children's book Zathura by Chris Van Allsburg, author of the 1981 children's book Jumanji. It is a standalone spin-off of the 1995 film Jumanji and the second installment of the Jumanji franchise. The film stars Josh Hutcherson, Jonah Bobo, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart, and Tim Robbins.

"Passage on the Lady Anne" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. In this episode, a couple whose marriage is struggling travel aboard an aging ocean liner, unaware that the ship is on a final voyage into the afterlife. The cast features Lee Philips, Joyce Van Patten, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Gladys Cooper, Cecil Kellaway and Alan Napier and the script was written by Charles Beaumont.

<i>Genius Party</i> 2007 anthology of short animated films

Genius Party are two anthology films made up of 12 short animated films from Studio 4°C. It was envisioned to form a single release.

<i>The Sweetest Fig</i>

The Sweetest Fig is a children's fantasy picture book written in 1993 by the American author Chris Van Allsburg. It tells a story of an affluent, cold-hearted French dentist who eats a fig which makes his wildest dreams come true.

Henry Jennings was an English privateer-turned-pirate. Jennings' first recorded act of piracy took place in early 1716 when, with three vessels and 150–300 men, Jennings' fleet ambushed the Spanish salvage camp from the 1715 Treasure Fleet. After the Florida raid, Jennings and his crew also linked up with Benjamin Hornigold's "three sets of pirates" from New Providence Island.

<i>The Wreck of the Zephyr</i> 1983 picture book by Chris Van Allsburg

The Wreck of the Zephyr is a children's book written and illustrated by the American author Chris Van Allsburg, first published by Houghton Mifflin in March 1983.

<i>The Death of Sleep</i> 1990 novel by Anne McCaffrey

The Death of Sleep is a science fiction novel by American writers Anne McCaffrey and Jody Lynn Nye, published by Baen Books in 1990. It is the second book in the Planet Pirates trilogy and continues the Ireta series that McCaffrey initiated with Dinosaur Planet in 1978. Elizabeth Moon and McCaffrey wrote the other two Planet Pirates books.

"Triangle" is the third episode of the sixth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on November 22, 1998. Written and directed by series creator Chris Carter, "Triangle" is a "Monster-of-the-Week" episode, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the overarching mythology of The X-Files. "Triangle" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.8, being watched by 18.20 million viewers in its initial broadcast. The episode generally received positive reviews with many critics commenting on the episode's directing style.

The Infinity Stones are fictional items in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, based on the Infinity Gems of the Marvel Comics. As expounded across several interwoven MCU multimedia titles, the six Infinity Stones are reputed to embody and control essential aspects of existence—Space, Mind, Reality, Power, Time and Soul—thereby making them critical artifacts in the MCU and, together, the MacGuffin of the dedicated Infinity Saga.

<i>Bad Day at Riverbend</i> Book by Chris Van Allsburg

Bad Day at Riverbend is a 1995 children's book written by American writer Chris Van Allsburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dracula (radio drama)</span> Radio show

"Dracula" is an episode of the American radio drama anthology series The Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as the premiere episode of the series on Monday, July 11, 1938, and aired over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. Directed and narrated by actor and future filmmaker Orson Welles, the episode was an adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula.

<i>Shadow Captain</i> (novel) 2019 novel by Alastair Reynolds

Shadow Captain, by British author Alastair Reynolds, is the second book in the Revenger trilogy that began with the novel Revenger, published in 2016.

References