What people are saying:
Faith multiplies. Love feeds. And miracles often begin with a simple instruction.
My Father’s Miraculous Rock Soup is one of those rare books that feels like a story you didn’t just read—you sat inside it. It is gentle, wise, and quietly profound; the kind of story that stays with you long after you have closed the cover.
At its heart, this is a story about generosity, faith, and the love passed down through small moments—shared meals, careful attention, and a father teaching a child how to truly see the world. While inspired by the classic Stone Soup folktale, Donald Rubbo makes it unmistakably his own, weaving together memory and meaning in a way that feels both timeless and deeply personal.
What I loved most is how the book trusts the reader. The message that abundance comes from sharing is handled with grace and warmth rather than preachiness. The father-son relationship is beautifully drawn: tender, funny, and full of quiet reverence. You can almost smell the onions and hear the soft authority of a parent teaching not just how to cook, but how to live.
This book is deeply comforting. It serves as a reminder that community is built one small offering at a time and that miracles often arrive without fanfare—showing up instead as a shared table or a simple rock. While this is a wonderful book for children, it is also for parents, grandparents, and anyone who has ever learned a life lesson in the kitchen. It is a story to be read aloud and given as a gift.
In short, My Father’s Miraculous Rock Soup is tender, thoughtful, and full of heart. It is a beautiful reminder that when people come together with open hands, even the simplest things can become extraordinary. Paul Sonnabend, President, Hurricane Hauling
At its heart, this is a story about generosity, faith, and the love passed down through small moments—shared meals, careful attention, and a father teaching a child how to truly see the world. While inspired by the classic Stone Soup folktale, Donald Rubbo makes it unmistakably his own, weaving together memory and meaning in a way that feels both timeless and deeply personal.
What I loved most is how the book trusts the reader. The message that abundance comes from sharing is handled with grace and warmth rather than preachiness. The father-son relationship is beautifully drawn: tender, funny, and full of quiet reverence. You can almost smell the onions and hear the soft authority of a parent teaching not just how to cook, but how to live.
This book is deeply comforting. It serves as a reminder that community is built one small offering at a time and that miracles often arrive without fanfare—showing up instead as a shared table or a simple rock. While this is a wonderful book for children, it is also for parents, grandparents, and anyone who has ever learned a life lesson in the kitchen. It is a story to be read aloud and given as a gift.
In short, My Father’s Miraculous Rock Soup is tender, thoughtful, and full of heart. It is a beautiful reminder that when people come together with open hands, even the simplest things can become extraordinary. Paul Sonnabend, President, Hurricane Hauling
I have been substitute teaching for the past 3 years in public schools, and I know that the K-6 children will love this book! Adults will love it, too, because they will learn the powerful magic of sharing, even when we think we have nothing to share. Also, if there is anyone who has never experienced creating soup from scratch, this book will give them all the knowledge they need to choose the ingredients from the store or garden, walk into the kitchen, and magically assemble a hearty "Rock Soup". What I like most is the heartfelt gift that a loving father passed on to his son. I could smell and taste the soup by the story's end!
With much love, Claudia Holt 
What a beautiful book, thank you for sharing it with us. As a preschool teacher for many years, it brings me joy to reenact the story of the Stone Soup story in my class each year. It teaches the children empathy, community and sharing. Many of the children had never liked soup before, until they made the soup with their own hands.
Your book brings the love of making the soup with the father and son buying the vegetables and preparing the soup together, then watching the family enjoying the love that was placed in this meal. The beautiful illustrations are colorful and happy and really outline the story. Linda Van Staveren 
As the saying goes, every good story holds a pinch of truth, and My Father’s Miraculous Rock Soup, by Donald Rubbo with Cheryl Lynne Rubbo, proves it. This beautiful tale, a two-in-one story seen through the eyes of an eight-year-old boy named Donald who loves cooking, shares a special bond with his father, Admondo Dondes Rubbo, a gifted artist and storyteller whose brief but well-lived life inspires the narrative. Aimed at readers aged 8-11, this heartfelt story brims with lessons on teamwork, sharing, patience, caring for others, and faith.
The core of the book features the father’s retelling of the Stone Soup story through the perspective of a tired and hungry soldier who unites a war-torn village by creating a meal from a miraculous rock, and concludes with the father and son enjoying a joyful trip to the farmers' market and a fun soup-making adventure. Reading My Father’s Miraculous Rock Soup to my aging mother was a delightful surprise. Rubbo's ability to mix art and cooking (a skill rooted from his childhood) shines through, and his storytelling, likely inherited from his father, brought back such vivid childhood memories for my mother that it brought tears to her eyes. I personally verify “this is a book readers of all ages can enjoy.” Heidi Spaeth, Heidi Productions |
This was such a wonderful book, the stories of both the soldier and time spent with your father are well written and illustrate beautifully the bond that food can create. The sense of community and abundance shown in the small village, even when the townspeople thought they did not have enough, is a great example. The characters in the story were aptly described and the pictures perfectly complimented the story. I felt very touched by the story of the time spent with your father creating the Miraculous Stone Soup. I enjoyed getting to see into a very meaningful and foundational time of your youth. There were things that I learned in both stories. Thank you for sharing this beautiful story!! Love, Guine Lucius
Thank you so much for sharing this. The story is absolutely beautiful and deeply heartfelt. I really felt the love and emotion behind it. I admire the heart you pour into your work. [The photos of Donald, his dad and family, at the end, I think, makes it so touching.] I really admire the heart you pour into your work.
It really is amazing what AI can do these days, and I’m so glad you’re able to use it to help bring this wonderful story to life. Daniel Korson, Coracao Confections 
My Father’s Miraculous Rock Soup storybook is a visual and emotional
masterpiece, the text (the story) is handwritten by Donald Rubbo, from a memory from his childhood, and every AI-Assisted illustration is personally crafted by Donald with extensive, all-inclusive artistic direction. These AI-assisted visuals honor traditional storytelling while embracing new creative technologies, honoring, and building upon, the groundbreaking artistic legacy of Donald’s father, the legendary Don Rubbo, as well as Donald’s comprehensive, multi-disciplinary artistic career. My Father's Miraculous Rock Soup is a luminous reimagining of the beloved Stone Soup folktale, destined to become a cherished classic in children’s literature. This extraordinary storybook, with its innovative three-part structure and expansive 140-page journey, soars beyond all previous adaptations, weaving a tapestry of trust, faith, hope, love, and community that resonates across generations. |
