Worry Stone — Marianna Dengler

Folks say if you're troubled or worried, and if you rub the stone gently, like this, the worry goes away. Every day the woman walks to the park, the bright red feather bobbing on her floppy old hat. She watches the children play and tries not to think about her own children, scattered to the winds, and herself, growing older each day. Then one day a small, serious boy joins her on the park bench, and she realizes that once she was small and serious, too, but she had Grandfather―and his stories―to make life wonderful. Perhaps there is a way to share that wonder. The Worry Stone is three tales woven together, the way human lives are connected despite distance and time. It pays homage to the first people of California's Ojai Valley, the Chumash Indians, and the power of folktales spoken aloud. Written and illustrated with loving hands, The Worry Stone shows us how the stories of the past can join with the unfolding future, turning one lonely old woman and one lonely young boy into friends.