Do You Know The Tale Of “Stone Soup?” (Board game giveaway!)

Somewhere not too far away, there is a small and cheerless village. It’s a very poor village. Each family barely has enough to eat and because they are frightened of not having any food at all, they keep their food in secret hiding places.

One dreary day, a stranger stops in the center of this village, tired from his long journey. The people from the village are scared he might want their food so they tell him to move on. “There’s not anything to eat in this town,” they say. “There’s not even enough for those who live here, let alone a stranger.”

“Not to worry,” says the stranger. “I have everything I need. In fact, I was thinking of making some Stone Soup for all of YOU.” And with that he pulls a soup pot from his sack, fills it with water and builds a fire under it. Then, from a velvet pouch he takes a single, ordinary looking stone and plops it into the pot.

He waits, and waits, and as he waits the people of the village come out to watch. They are curious and hungry. The sight of the stranger stirring his soup and sniffing at the broth makes their mouths water and their tummies grumble.

“I do like a tasty Stone Soup,” the stranger says. “But a Stone Soup with cabbage – now that’s really something special!”

Soon a villager approaches and tentatively holds out a small old cabbage he took form its hiding place in his house. he offers it to the stranger. “Delightful,” says the stranger. “A beautiful cabbage for our soup.” he adds it to the pot and continues to stir.

“You know,” says the stranger, almost to himself, “I once had a Stone Soup with cabbage AND a bit of onion. Now that was a soup that was fit for a king!”

Another villager finds and onion and offers that to the stranger. And so it goes, from potatoes,

to beans,

to carrots,

to salt,

and so on, until there is a delicious soup and plenty for everyone in the village to eat until they are full and happy and resting together in the center of town.

When the soup is all gone the villagers offer the stranger a great deal of money for the stone. “No,” says the stranger as he wipes the pot clean and packs his bag, “I like to keep the stone with me wherever I go. You never know when someone might get hungry.”

Who doesn’t like a good folktale…especially when it involves food? I love them. Even as a young child, I was fascinated by folk stories (which probably explains my obsession with folk art.)  I was already familiar with the “Stone Soup” story, when I happened across a board game at the 2011 Chicago Toy and Game Fair. Since #25 on my “Would Be 40 x 40 List” is: Start an educational program teaching children how to cook and eat healthy, I am naturally on high alert for anything that deals with children and food.

Peaceable Kingdom is a company that specializes in cooperative games. In a cooperative game, players work together as a team against a common obstacle, not against each other. Cooperative games emphasize play, not competition. For example, this this “Stone Soup” game, children work together to memory match all of the soup ingredients in the pot before the fire goes “out.” If the “magic stone” is found, it will take away one of the fire cards, giving the children an extra chance to match more soup ingredients. Morally, it teaches them how to work together to feed each other. That’s it. Simple rules, beautiful artwork and very fine, sturdy quality. I highly recommend these affordable games for your little ones.

Oh, did I happen to mention that the Peaceable Kingdom games are 100% green?

• 100% Committed to creating products that are safe for family and environment
• All paper and boards: made with FSC papers and printed with soy-based inks. FSC means Forest Stewardship Council and that means ecologically responsible management of our world’s forests.
• Plastics: all plastic parts in the games are made using a corn-based plastic. It is phthalate- and BPA-free and will biodegrade over time.
• Recyclable: the entire game and all it’s parts can be recycled

Would you like to win a “Stone Soup Board Game” for your child (or for yourself? It’s fun!) Now you can! There are four ways to enter. You MUST leave a comment on this post for each entry in order for it to count. US entries only (sorry Canadian friends.) The contest will end on Tuesday, February 7th at Noon CST. A winner will be chosen by Random.org and notified by email. Good luck!

**Congratulations to Renee for winning! Thank you all for entering! If you would like to purchase your own game, they are $13.61 on Amazon**

1. “Like” Peaceable Kingdom on Facebook and let them know what you like about their games. Be sure to tell them you are visiting from Food (Just Sayin’).
2. “Like” Food (Just Sayin’) on Facebook
3. Leave a comment on this post about your child’s favorite board game.
4. Tweet this: I want to win a Stone Soup Board Game from @ItsToni & Food (Just Sayin’) http://www.foodjustsayin.com/?p=1395 #giveaway #foodie

Honest Blogger found here: I received no compensation for this post, although I was sent a game in order to formulate the review/giveaway. I will be donating my game to The Academy of Global Citizenship in Chicago. As always, 100% my opinion. Disclosure policy can be found here.