Summer Ball, by Mike Lupica; Philomel Books: New York, 2007; $17.99 Have you ever read the sequel to a book that you loved and felt utterly disappointed or, even worse, robbed? If you read Travel Team, by Mike Lupica, which was reviewed by Zach Hoffman in the May/June 2007 edition of Stone Soup, and decide […]
Half an Eggshell
I jump down the small drop to the grassy road. Tall, brown grass overruns it, thorny weeds branching up from the dry ground. Long stalks of fennel huddle together. Lizards skitter away from my shoes, and they dart down deep cracks in the earth. The road snakes down the valley. Behind it is a golden […]
Lost and Found
Niki scowled. She clutched the rumpled picture of her best friend, Claire, as she trudged up the many stairs. I don’t care if this is a famous place, she thought angrily. It doesn’t change the fact that they made me move to Ireland and leave Claire behind in Wisconsin. Niki grumpily followed her parents up […]
The Blueberry Family
Two girls sat on a small, colorful carpet in the living room of their new house. The older one, a lanky seven-year-old redhead, sat up tall and poised, her feet tucked underneath her. The younger one, a chubby four-year-old with brown curls, was sprawled out on her stomach, paper dolls scattered around her. “Allie, play […]
Maui
Waves are crashing all around me, The sun is casting its yellow rays upon the island. I hear a yell but it is oh so distant: “Go! Go!” I turn my head to see a wall rapidly approaching. I thrash my arms and kick, But it seems too late for me. I push up onto […]
Good Eats
Jimmy Culpepper looked out through the bay window fogged up with lazy steam. He couldn’t believe his eyes. There was a squall shaping up outside, a true-life Maine nor’easter. It wasn’t so much that he minded a good ol’- fashioned nor’easter so much as he minded it today, now. This was the celebration he and […]
Schooled
By Leah Wolfe Schooled, by Gordon Korman; Hyperion Books for Children: New York, 2007; $15.99 Have you ever been the target of teasing? Or have you even been the one doing the teasing? Most of us have, as I’m ashamed to admit. But the story of Schooled, written by Gordon Korman, will teach you the […]
A Night for Soccer
It was bitterly cold. Standing by the bench, our team huddled in a group, shivering as we listened to our coach. Gusts of freezing wind blew around us, pelting us with miniscule drops of rain that stung our skin. The moaning of the trees sung in the background. And the sky was dark. I wrapped […]
Shifted
Aneesa sat with her legs tucked into her chest, her chin sat limply on the worn denim that covered her knees. Her shoes were a well-loved pair of classic black Converse, the rubber parts entirely decorated with Sharpie. Her dark brown hair, so dark it looked black at first glance, hung over her face, putting […]
Riding the Gondola
New York at dusk When shadowy sun Rests on skyscrapers And in the park In the city Dragonflies murmur Birds hum As the little gondola Glides across the silver lake That parts between my fingers The tenor of cheerful chatter From the restaurants The whispered conversations Of the couples On their sunset rowboat trips The […]
The Migration
A pack of fifteen geese flew over the mainland and then out to sea. They were migrating to a warmer place. As they flew over the sea, they looked down; the sea was rough with choppy waves. The geese spotted a ship, a skipjack. It looked as though the three-man crew were catching oysters. The […]
The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio
The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio, by Lloyd Alexander; Henry Holt and Company: New York, 2007; $18.95 Treasure hunts have long captivated the minds of children and adults alike. And treasure hunters, such as pirates or explorers, intrigue us just as much. But in Lloyd Alexander’s book, The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio, the “fearless […]
