Recently my work email had email telling that a book was coming but also singing the praises of A Stone Sat Still by Brendan Wenzel. When a book gets high praise, I tend to be skeptical. I have been burned before by the “next great thing.” Usually, then I realize that it has “something” that is not “for me” and is “someone else’s book.” This time, I think it is everyone’s book.
I am not sure how to talk about this book. It seems to be difficult to explain. It is something to be experienced then talked about. Mostly you have to say how it made you feel or what images might have caught your eye. It has a ghostly, worldly, spiritual tone to it. It talks about the things a rock does when it “sits still.” How it sits, the colors it becomes, how it gives life, how it is shelter, how it is a throne, how it is a kitchen, how it is loud and quiet. And it shows how the nature around it can literally wash over it and allow it to take on a new life.
Is this book for kids? I really do not know. I see this as a gift. Maybe as a baby shower gift, more likely a bridal gift or wedding gift, as it shows the cycle of life. But also, I could see this a book on grief. This is a book that gives you feelings. I think an older child might enjoy the soft nature of the tone and the amazing, softly colored, slightly muted colors. One scene shows a fog, but the whole book felt like it was in a fog, but a relaxing fog. Your mood going in will be what you take from this.