The Amazing Bone

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The Amazing Bone is a 32-page picture book by William Steig from 1976. It was nominated for the Caldecott Medal in 1977, however, Leo & Diane Dillon's "Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions" won, so The Amazing Bone only received the Honor Award. It was the first of Steig's few books in which the main character is a female.

The story is about how Pearl the pig is walking home from school, and finds a magic bone on the ground, which has the ability to imitate any sound and speak in any language (He samples Spanish and German for her). Pearl takes it with her, and on the way home they have several misadventures, including an encounter with a hungry fox who wants to eat Pearl for dinner.

[edit] Adaptation

In the early 90's a short animated film was made of this book, with John Lithgow as the narrator. Lithgow also gave his voice for another film adaptation of a William Steig book, Shrek.