This story was inspiring to me as a woman. It's about a single mother of three who is one of few women in the stone-cutting industry. She works hard, long hours to be able to provide a better future for her children. At one point in the story reminded me of a personal memory of my mother. The author wrote, "now an early-early bus takes her across the bridge into the city." My mother also worked in a factory and caught many early buses in Miami to go to work to be able to provide for her family. The hardships and sacrifice a mother does for her children are told in a beautifully inspiring story. ( )

With a message about the importance of team work, young John struggles with his mother's long hours at work as she cuts stone to help in the building of a large new cathedral. Young John worries that his mom is too tired and working too hard day after day on her stone. He is thrilled when the time arrives to visit the arising cathedral and see his mom's stone. Much to young John astonishment, her's is a plain stone and he's confused about why it has taken her so long to complete it. Then he becomes upset that her name will not appear on her work of art, as he has seen other artists name with their work in the museums. The young boy finally realizes that his mother is part of historical art that will be seen by many and is thankful to all those who teamed up to create a masterpiece. ( )

this is great for class because it teaches students to love their families and respect them. ( )

This is about a boy who's mom is building the newest cathedral in town. It about about appreciating what other people do to support us.

This book is about a mother who is a stone cutter for the cathedral called Big John and her son who gets to go and see her stone being added to the cathedral. The message of this story was that something can be important even if it does not stand out to everyone. Art is not only for seeing and admiring but also for doing. I really loved this story! One thing that I loved about this story was that it portrayed a working mother who was tired and dirty when she came home from her job each day. I think that physical jobs, like a stone cutter, are often portrayed as male jobs, so I liked that the mother was the stone cutter. A second thing that I loved about this story was the factual information after the story. The author told the true story of Big John the Cathedral and explained how she got her inspiration for the story. I thought it was really interesting to connect a fictional story to something real. ( )