Are you Never Satisfied?

Never Satisfied: The Story of the Stonecutter by Dave Horowitz is a folktale about learning to be careful what you wish for. You just might get it. The Stonecutter is a good stonecutter, but it is hard work and is not satisfied with what he has. He thinks there must be something better. And there is! Being a business man sipping tea. But then he sees something else he wants even more….and after each wish he gets what he wants, but still is not satisfied. Not until he becomes a stone. After all, what can move a stone?

The introduction by the author/illustrator gives the background to the story that inspired this book. He was an author/illustrator but wanted more, he became a paramedic… who later went back to writing.

The only real issue I have with this book is there is nothing wrong bettering yourself. Of course, you need to better yourself for the right reason. It is the greedy nature of the Stonecutter than is the moral of the story. As, even the rock can be moved by the stonecutter.

The illustrations are odd. They are fun. But I am not sure if they work for the nature of the story. They are cartoonish and lack a lot of detail. Then again, they might be the perfect way to represent the story as you want to focus on the words and not just the illustrations. They are colorful and will help tone the story down a bit for the younger audience.