Once Upon a Sign: The New Stone Soup

This entry in the titular series of children's tales performed in American Sign Language serves up a classic folk fable about travelers who create a strange soup. Featuring English voiceover and enthusiastic cast members mugging for the camera, The New Stone Soup follows three magician wanderers who travel with their wooden wagon in period garb to a town populated by folks dressed in 21st-century outfits. The villagers are impressed by the trio's dancing, acrobatic, and fire-breathing skills—but they don't really want to give food or money to the “hippies.” Going door to door, the performers are discouraged that no one will pass the hat or feed them, but they put their heads together for another show in which the audience is encouraged to add ingredients to a special soup, taking a personal part in helping with the “magic.” Wrapping up with the featured adults teaching signs such as “drum,” “dance,” and “eat,” this adaptation joins previously released titles in the series including Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood, and The Magic Mirror. Recommended. Aud: E, P. (J. Williams-Wood)