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Mysterious Moon (Nikon Coolpix L830) Photograph by Hannah Parker, 13. Published in Stone Soup, October 2018. A note from Sarah Ainsworth Dear Stone Soup readers, Did you know that Stone Soup has a YouTube channel? We’ve posted a variety of videos before, including interviews with authors published in Stone Soup. However, this week I want to draw your attention to some recent videos we’ve been posting. First, did you see the wildlife videos by blogger Sierra Glassman? One was a video about hummingbirds, and the other was a compilation of wildlife videos she shot while on vacation in Pantanal, Brazil. Not only are they interesting to watch, but they also make you think about how wildlife photography and videography is no longer solely in the hands of National Geographic photographers. You very well might have access to a camera right now! Is there something outside that you could film and make the subject of a short documentary? Even inside there may be something worthy of documentation. A pet or a plant, perhaps? Don’t feel that nature documentaries need to be shot in remote parts of the Sahara—you can make one in your own backyard! On the fiction side of things, we published two videos this week: “Space Battle” by Christian Goh and “A Day at Camp” by Caitlin Goh. I highly recommend you to take the time to watch them. Though they were created using the same software, Christian and Caitlin take very different approaches to their short films. Christian chooses to film a science fiction story, while Caitlin gives a day-in-the-life glimpse of a character’s camp experience. Both young filmmakers use a combination of still and moving images (photos and videos, in other words) to tell their story. They also make the choice to only feature a musical score for their films, with some sound effects, but without any spoken dialogue. Instead, the words are written on screen for viewers to read for themselves. This is not a common practice anymore, but back in the days of silent film, it was the only way to convey language on screen—besides body language, of course! Without dialogue spoken aloud, words needed to be chosen carefully, and visual representations, like the actors’ behavior, needed to express a great deal. It can be striking to look back at these old movies and see how “over”-acted they are, or how exaggerated the actors behaved. But remember, they had to make sure the audience knew what was going on! Do you think you could make a silent film with a more modern, subtle acting style? After watching these videos, you may very well be inspired to make your own. It can be helpful to start with a small idea. Maybe you’d like to create a nature documentary like Sierra did. Or maybe you’d like to create a fiction film like the ones the Gohs made. My advice is to lay out a step-by-step plan if you want to make a movie, including script deadlines, casting ideas, locations for filming, and times for final editing (called post-production). Then, once you’re done, submit it! Happy creating! P.S. Don’t forget that we’ve published a screenplay in Stone Soup before! Read Oliver Jacobs’s lively “Bugs Are the Future!” here. If you write your own screenplay and are pleased with it but don’t wish to make it a visual production, feel free to submit that to Stone Soup! Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at Stonesoup.com! As I discussed above, we published two excellent videos this week: “Space Battle” by Christian Goh and “A Day at Camp” by Caitlin Goh. Leave a comment on the blog if you enjoy them! From Stone Soup July/August 2018 The Moon and My Heart By Rebecca Beaver, 13 The moon ate my heart. My vision was tainted. I staggered forward, uncertain. I heard something disappear. I think— I am myself. I taste the hole in my chest. The moon’s smile mocks me. I know, I know I am not myself— I am merely a whisper Of a husked heartbeat. Click on this link to read more poems by Stone Soup authors on similar themes. Stone Soup’s advisors: Abby Austin, Mike Axelrod, Annabelle Baird, Jem Burch, Evelyn Chen, Juliet Fraser, Zoe Hall, Montanna Harling, Alicia & Joe Havilland, Lara Katz, Rebecca Kilroy, Christine Leishman, Julie Minnis, Jessica Opolko, Tara Prakash, Denise Prata, Logan Roberts, Emily Tarco, Rebecca Ramos Velasquez, Susan Wilky

I held them like they were a bouquet of yellow flowers Illustrator Anna Dreher, 12 for Frustration, Happiness, and Pure Amazement by Isabella Widrow, 12. Published November/December 2015. A note from William Rubel Mushrooms! Chanterelles! Delicious and commonplace wild foods for the taking! How I love foraging. Berries, fruits, mushrooms, watercress, wild lettuce, dandelions—it is rare that a week goes by when I don’t bring something back from a walk. All these wild plants and more can provide creative inspiration, and some of them even something to eat. Now, I want to say right away that you must learn about wild foods and think very carefully about the conditions you found them in, before eating anything you pick. The rule for all wild foods, especially mushrooms, is the same: “In case of doubt, throw it out.” Mushrooms come in many colors: red, yellow, orange, grey, black, brown, white, and even green. I think of mushrooms as the flowers of the forest floor. The carpet of yellow chanterelles depicted in Anna Dreher’s drawing is realistic—but this is also the find of a century! I’d be talking about such a find for years afterward. When you collect wild foods, whether those are apples from a city tree that overhangs a sidewalk, watercress in a neighborhood stream, or dandelion from a lawn or piece of disturbed ground in a parking lot, you bring home a story. For this weekend, I’d like you all to at the very least take a walk in your neighborhood. You can expand your quest beyond edible plants and fruits to include flowers. (I am not talking here about picking from your neighbors’ yards, or from rare collections of special plants, of course!) Keep your eyes peeled for herbs, fruits, and flowers that are growing in the public part of streets and lots. You will be surprised at what you find once you start looking. But to write about what you bring home, to talk about the bouquet of yellow flowers from wild lettuces—something I am pretty sure you will find in bloom right now—you need to be able to recognize what you find. Novelists and story writers, like historians, often have to do research to support their stories. When you write about mushrooms or plants, it is helpful to be particular. “We walked through a forest” is less evocative than “We walked through a pine forest.” Just being able to say “pine” helps readers visualize the shape of the trees, imagine walking on trails covered in needles, and smell the unique smell of pine. So go out foraging this weekend. Ideally, go with someone who has some knowledge of plants and fungi, and check with an adult before you pick anything. Look closely at what you find, and learn about it. You can draw the plants you find and press leaves and flowers to dry them. And you can write about it. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of capturing everyday experiences in writing. Finding wild foods and flowers to pick and bring home is a completely different experience from going to the grocery store to pick up fruits, vegetables, and a bouquet. Everything you forage yourself comes with a story. I want you to record this weekend’s foraging stories; then, when you are writing fiction, think back on this exercise to find something you can use to bring life into your fictional story. Until next week Seeking new bloggers and reviewers! We love the book reviews and blogs that we have been publishing lately. We see this work as being on the same level as what’s published in Stone Soup. The blogs let you, our Stone Soup writers, write in genres and styles that don’t quite fit into Stone Soup the literary magazine. We are always looking for more bloggers, so if you are interested, please submit a sample of what you have in mind by going to our online submissions page. I’d like to encourage teachers and homeschooling parents to submit sample pieces too; we are also looking for adult bloggers. Up to this point the online book reviews and blogs have been free for anyone to view. We have just submitted the work order to our programmer to fold the book reviews and blogs into the Stone Soup paywall which will limit the number of free views. By doing so, we are saying to you reviewers and bloggers that your work has value and that it is an important part of the work we publish. The 2018 Stone Soup Annual is nearly ready The 2018 Stone Soup Annual is in production and will soon go to the printer. Sarah Ainsworth has made the selections of reviews and blog posts to be included in that volume. Impressive work. Congratulations to all our artists, writers, reviewers and bloggers! Thank you! Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at stonesoup.com! Are you excited about Halloween? Thinking about your costume? Do not miss Antara’s post with 4 incredible ideas for Halloween costumes you can make yourself. We particularly love the jellyfish (though they are all terrific)! As we move into fall, we also look back at summer with some colorful, inspiring pages from Claire R’s summer journal. Plus, we have another guest post from an adult blogger, this time art history student Sarah Lynn talking about ‘No Boundaries’, the beautiful work of art by Christian Goh, age 9, that we used as our May 2018 cover.   From Stone Soup November/December 2015 Frustration, Happiness, and Pure Amazement By Isabella Widrow, 12 Illustrated by Anna Dreher, 12 How I Found Chanterelles Rain splattered against ice-cold windows, and fat, foggy, clouds hung low. I was in my dad’s twenty-one-year- old Honda Accord, zooming along the highway. It was four-thirty, and I had just gotten out of the two-hour Chinese School that I attend every Sunday. My dad, sister Mia, and I were on our way to a place in the middle of nowhere to find… mushrooms. Chanterelles, to

I feel the thrill of the moment as my coconut wobbles, surprisingly fast, past me Illustrator Ester Luna, 12 for Racing Coconuts by Rachel Barglow, 10. Published July/August 2015. A note from Emma Wood Announcing the winners of our short short fiction contest First Place:      “The Pendulum” by Sabrina Guo, 12 Second Place:  “The Sycamore Tree” by Mira Johnson, 8 Third Place:     “A Dinner Party” by Anyi Sharma, 10 Fourth Place:   “The Hummingbird” by Clare McDermott, 12 Honorable Mentions: Symbiotic by Madeline Pass, 13 Potato Diaries by Christian Goh, 10 The Mystical Trees by Hannah Lee, 10 A cat literally watching time pass. A magical tree that heals and protects an injured bunny being chased by a dog. A mysterious hermit who throws a lavish dinner party. A hummingbird whose light, joyful presence delights the whole forest. These are descriptions of the stories that won our short short fiction contest—and a very small sample of the range of stories we received. I was amazed, reading these submissions, at how much can fit into 300 words. Some of you chose to focus on describing a moment or scene in sparkling, clear prose. Others chose to tell an action-packed narrative. Both types worked, and both felt much longer than the word limit. Short short fiction, or flash fiction as it is also called, reminds me of a clown car: each story managed to pack in so much more than I thought possible. I want to directly thank everyone who had the inspiration to write a story and the courage to submit it to our contest. Your excellent, imaginative writing made our choices very difficult. We encourage all of you to continue writing and to submit your work to us again soon. Flash fiction is an excellent genre to work in, especially if you are new to writing fiction. Repetition is the mother of learning—and the shorter the story you are writing, the easier it will be to keep repeating and keep learning. Until next week Read the latest updates on our blog Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at stonesoup.com! This week, Sabrina Guo – who also happens to be our flash fiction contest winner! – has written a thought provoking, compassionate and informative article on The Refugee Children Crisis. Please read it and share your thoughts with her and with us on the website. From Stone Soup July/August 2015 Racing Coconuts By Rachel Barglow, 10 Illustrated by Ester Luna, 12 “Truth or Dare?” my best friend Jackson challenges me. I glance around at my circle of friends like they might have an answer. “Dare,” I say confidently. My friends and I always get together Saturday evenings. We’re gathered around a campfire eating marshmallows on a beach in Florida. Just then, Jackson grins wickedly at a tall palm tree with four coconuts cradled under its huge green leaves, and then back at me. “Simon—I dare you to a coconut race with me. Take it or leave it.” “I’ll take it,” I say, feeling my face turn red like it always does when I’m excited. Jackson and I know the drill. We each jog over to separate palm trees and shake them vigorously. When the tree gives up a coconut, I catch it as it falls. Jackson also gets a coconut. Then we drag our feet in the sand, creating one wide racetrack going for maybe twenty-five feet down a hill. The hill is steep enough to give the coconuts momentum. Jackson and I go to the starting line and bend down, the coconuts barely touching the ground. I feel the tense feeling of excitement in the air, my heart beating quickly. Everyone has their eye on our coconuts. A surfer shouts loudly to a friend in the distance. No one budges, no one hears. I will win this race. I will. “On your mark, get set…” Jackson starts, my heart beating even quicker. “On your mark, get set…” everyone cries, “Go!”  …/more Stone Soup’s Advisors: Abby Austin, Mike Axelrod, Annabelle Baird, Jem Burch, Evelyn Chen, Juliet Fraser, Zoe Hall, Montanna Harling, Alicia & Joe Havilland, Lara Katz, Rebecca Kilroy, Christine Leishman, Julie Minnis, Jessica Opolko, Tara Prakash, Denise Prata, Logan Roberts, Emily Tarco, Rebecca Ramos Velasquez, Susan Wilky.