Flash contest #21: Write a poem about your favorite place to be The week commencing August 17th (Daily Creativity Prompt #106) was our twenty-first week of Flash Contests. The prompt asked our entrants to write a poem about their favorite place to be. The over-fifty entries we received ranged from poetry about the comfort of one’s own room, to vacation spots in Hawaii, to family homes, to the peacefulness of nature, and much more! We greatly enjoyed reading all of the entries we received, as well as the happy feeling that accompanied them. Well done to all of our entrants; and a special congratulations to our Winners and Honorable Mentions, listed below. Read on past the list of winners to experience the Winners’ work for yourself! Winners Hawaii by Analise Braddock, 9 (Katonah, NY) My Favorite Place To Be by Georgia Marshall, 11 (Marblehead, MA) Cherish the Temporary by Reagan Ricker, 13 (Coto de Caza, CA) My Favorite People by Chloe Song, 12 (Lexington, MA) A Place Yet To Be by Anushka Trivedi, 10 (Silver Spring, MD) Honorable Mentions In the Mountains by Quinn Peacock Brush, 10 (Denver, CO) The Observation Deck by Nicholas Buckley, 13 (Wilmington, MA) Winter in my Bed Nova Macknik-Conde, 8 (Brooklyn, NY) My Room by Julia Marcus, 13 (Culver City, CA) Perfect For Me by April Yu, 12 (East Brunswick, NJ) Analise Braddock, 9, Katonah, NY Hawaii Analise Braddock, 9 Where sunscreen is your friend, Smells of salt and coconut invade your nose, Crish, crash goes the waves as you bravely venture out into the sea, To relax and feel good vibes. The place to escape from all your thoughts and worry To find new outside old, lemonade ice cream and fruit punch swamp the area. Cool breezes mounting over you, Water flooding around in the grotto, The perfect places in Hawaii Georgia Marshall, 11Marblehead, MA My Favorite Place To Be Georgia Marshall, 11 There are many places I like to be. I like the Victorian mansion that is my grandparents’ house. With its richly painted portraits, its cozy, lively rooms, its tree filled backyard with shafts of honeyed light. I like the friendly country home that is my cousins house. With its green backyard pond, you can hear the frogs singing for you. Its cool river across the street, you jump off rocks and float into the chill-boned depths of water. Its bountiful berry bushes, you stick your hands in, then pull them back with handfuls of sour-sweet berries. I like the hot sunny continent that is Australia, With its creek-filled camping trips, Full of warm crackling fires, singing their songs of smoke and flame. Its marching band of that is the morning birdsong, making my head thrum. Its people who I get to see, with their twangy Aussie accents. I like the rickety, old-fashioned town that is my home. With its rich history that fills every household. An old barn attached to our house. The one my mother and I dream of fixing up. Its empty parking lots, where my brother and I ride in his brand-new, bright-green kiddie car. Its friendly village roads, full of window boxed flowers and mossy trees. But the place I like most of all, is wherever my family is. My family is my kind-hearted mother, always around to give me a hug and a kiss. My strong, friendly father, who brings us on adventures. My sweet, dimpled brother, a lively bundle of energy, always ready to play and stick up for me. They are the place I like most of all. Reagan Ricker, 13Coto de Caza, CA Cherish the Temporary Reagan Ricker, 13 Even though there’s a mysterious beauty in the the way a crinkled leave flirtatiously brushes against your shoulder a last, yet oddly cheerful goodbye the quiet warble of a bird trembling with raw power the soft, grainy texture that oozes its way into tiny toes sand being kissed by the playful ocean again and again the hardened moon a sphere of cheese hanging by a slim thread or even the way the mountains strain and reach the light of dawn just so it can be bathed in a shimmering golden light only for a few seconds before the peach rose blossom fades back into a fake blue I’ve learned that I most enjoy the quiet comfort of my room glow in the dark stars placed by careless hands painted light switches a rainbow made of acrylic paints old seltzer cans overfilled with dull pencils and crammed with stubby erasers Empty cups stained with very berry smoothie on my nightstand A tapestry hides a crack in the wall where I threw my phone just a little too hard and too far My bookshelf is filled with worn, feathered pages marked with thoughtful dog ears I only own one bookmark and it’s missing A teddy bear When I squeeze it I can smell days in the park and the lilac scent of softener and it’s simply the best when I crack my shutters open and see a soft pattering of rain The thunderstorm’s hand tapping on my window My hot cocoa cup has 4 marshmallows I’ve eaten one and the other 3 melted down into something unrecognizable My doodle notebook reminds me that I wanted to be a Astronaut, explorer, archaeologist, race car driver, video game designer my dad says I should get a corporate job See, Nature will stay as long as we take care of it But no matter how many times we nurture childhood it fades away Like it never was there in the first place. Chloe Song, 12Lexington, MA My Favorite People Chloe Song, 12 I sit here in my favorite place Not by any oceans Not floating in space But with my people of connected emotions Cross Country season bibs Nights in bed Telling fibs My sister and I Changing in fitting rooms Sunday drives to the mall Checking price tags in fume My mom and I Sitting in
Book Club Report: The War that Saved My Life, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
An update from our eighteenth and nineteenth Book Club meetings! Important Note: Starting in September, Book Club is moving to Saturdays at 9am PST. It will take place only on the last Saturday of each month. Please check Stone Soup’s Newsletters and the Book Club page in the coming days and weeks for more information. Over the past two weeks, the Stone Soup Book Club has been discussing The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. The book is about a girl, Ada, who has a clubfoot. During World War II, she and her brother Jamie are evacuated from their unloving mother in London, and end up in Kent, under the care of a kind woman named Susan. As the book progresses, Ada overcomes some of the trauma of her childhood, and most importantly, finds a place where she belongs. Additionally, the Book Club was lucky enough to participate in an email interview with the author, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, which is discussed further below. In our first week of discussions, we started by simply sharing out whether we liked the book so far; it was very interesting to hear everyone’s opinions. We then split into breakout rooms which talked about both the setting and characters in The War that Saved My Life. We discussed what we thought of certain characters, and what the different settings in the book represented. All in all, we thought that London, the place where Ada was kept locked in the apartment she shared with Jamie and their mother (Mam) represented a cage, while Kent, the place where Ada was free to go outside, where she made friends and rode horses, signified freedom. Following those breakout rooms, we began to talk about how we would come up with a list of questions for Kimberly Brubaker Bradley to answer. We split into several breakout rooms, each of which came up with five questions, and then shared the questions out in the whole group. We managed to narrow down our list to ten questions, and then emailed them to Bradley, eagerly awaiting her answers for the next week! In our second week of discussions, we began by talking about the end of the book; first, where Ada and Jamie are quite happy and content, and then where they discover that they were not as free from Mam as they thought. We discussed how this reunion–albeit not a happy one–gave Ada the chance to stand up to Mam, and prove that she would not be mistreated again. Next, we broke into three breakout rooms to speculate what the sequel to The War that Saved My Life might be about. We thought about certain plot points, and whether they could carry over to the next book, and also about the book’s themes, such as Trust and a Sense of Belonging. It was really fun to hear what everyone guessed. Finally, we read out Kimberly Brubaker Bradley’s answers to the questions we had sent her. As we read about which characters and events had been inspired by her life, and how she decided to write The War that Saved My Life, we talked about whether we had expected the answers she gave, or whether they were a surprise. Overall, it was great fun to have had our own interview with Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, and we thank her tremendously! We also chose the next book for Book Club, which is listed below. Our Next Book: The War I Finally Won, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley Another Note: The War I Finally Won is the sequel to The War that Saved My Life (WtSML). Please note that you do NOT have to have read WtSML in order to join our discussion. Of course, you are welcome to, but it is not required. The Stone Soup Book Club is open to all Stone Soup contributors and subscribers, age 9-13. Starting in September, we will meet on the last Saturday of every month at 9am PST (12pm EST) via Zoom to discuss our chosen book. Join us!
Flash Contest #20: Write a Poem Inspired by a Song: Our Winners and Their Work!
Flash Contest #20: Write a poem inspired by a song. The week commencing August 10th (Daily Creativity Prompt #101) was our twentieth week of Flash Contests. The prompt asked our entrants to write a poem inspired by a song they’ve been listening to a lot. The entries we received ranged from poetry set to the tune of a certain song, poetry inspired by a theme of a song, poetry inspired by classical music, contemporary music, musicals, and even our entrants’ own musical compositions. We greatly enjoyed reading the many entries we received; well done to everyone who submitted to this prompt, and a special congratulations to our Winners and Honorable Mentions, listed below. Read on past the list of placed entries to experience the Winners’ work for yourselves! Winners Satisfied by Savannah Black, 9 (Yuba City, CA) First Flight by Fern Hadley, 12 (Cary, NC) Requiem by Joyce Hong, 10 (Oakville, ON) Mendelssohn’s Voices by Eric Liang, 13 (Sherborn, MA) Last Night by Daniel Wei, 13 (Weddington, NC) Honorable Mentions The Lovely Birds by Nova Macknik-Conde, 8 (Brooklyn, NY) Christmas Carols by Ashvant Daniel, 11 (Portland, OR) Mad World 2020 by Emma Hoff, 8 (Bronx, NY) The King of the Snow by Kyler Min, 9 (Vienna, VA) Dance Monkey by Sophie Yu, 12 (Houston, TX) Savannah Black, 9Yuba City, CA Satisfied Savannah Black, 9 I am never satisfied There is always another step to climb Another home run to hit Another goal to score Another painting to paint Another checkmate to you Another chore to do Another essay to write And another test to crush If I want to get ahead I have to come out on top I’ll never stop till I am on the top Of the team and then the class and then the school and then on top of the world I am never happy with where I am I will get more Like Alexander I will thrive Like Angelica I will never be satisfied Fern Hadley, 12Cary, NC First Flight Fern Hadley, 12 Editor’s Note: Fern’s poem was inspired by her original composition, First Flight. You can listen to Fern’s composition here. A world just beyond your mind, just above your grasp, waiting to be discovered— Gaze upward, see the light shining through, feel the yearn in your heart until you cannot ignore it— Find a way, unfurl your wings, take to the sky, soar into the light— Fly, spirit free, heart beating in time with the melody of flight— See the storm ahead gathering clouds, thunder rolls, lightning crackles— Persevere, yet rain falls, shards of glass piercing pinions— Fall from the sky, wings battered, feathers torn, hope drained— See the light. See the light. See the light. SEE THE LIGHT. Muster your strength, beat your wings to the rhythm of your unfailing heart, fly upwards— Rise through the storm, the song of your heart ringing in your ears, hope restored— Reach the light. Joyce Hong, 10Oakville, ON Requiem Joyce Hong, 10 When the villains fall- The villain is you I don’t cry, not at all Don’t say it wasn’t true Now that you’re dead Some notice you, I predict But I only remember you For the wounds you inflict Don’t think that I’ve forgotten I carry them around, too Don’t think that I’ll say, “It’s okay” I cannot forgive you A candle to put at your picture For a remembrance, we light The memories we cannot forget In the dead of night Mother lights a candle She knows you’re still here Father lights a candle He doesn’t want you to disappear In one hand I hold the lighter The candle’s in the other I look up at mother and father Then I see your picture, my brother I’m tempted to light the candle Play this game of pretend For everyone who knew you Reassure them- “This isn’t the end” But I Cannot play the grieving girl And lie Saying that I miss you I am my own person You were a monster to me Now that you’re gone I hope I’m finally free The lighter and the candle They both fall to the ground Tonight, this night There’s no requiem to be found. Eric Liang, 13Sherborn, MA Mendelssohn’s Voices Eric Liang, 13 Eyes stare out at the dull, Knowing but not wanting to know, Desperate, wants a different fate, Wild noises scream, Shattering, Insane, Surfaces tremble and break, Life snaps. Falling, through light and words, Then struggling up to experience anew. Shock leaves thoughts, Songs of smiles drift astray; Rolling joy as tears burn away, Yank and wrench, As it says goodbye: Valleys rise to crush, But fails to strike hope. Not enough, not nearly Agony forces, pushes, Until laughter spins out of control. Daniel Wei, 13Weddington, NC Last Night Daniel Wei, 13 Last night, I had this dream about you In this dream, I was dancing right beside you Underneath the awakening sun Captivated by your enthralling beauty We crossed the plains of green and yellow Down the dirt paths of the backcountry Your hand in mine, we skipped towards a pier And set sail on the bluest lake We rowed across the water The soft breeze tousling your hair The sunlight sparkled across the waves Shooting rainbows toward the sky Later that day, we walked to the old oak tree Sitting down, I pulled out a basket Two crystal glasses, plus a royal feast Eating ‘till our hearts were full At night, with the crickets serenading us We pranced in the grass, barefoot Underneath the twinkling stars It was the perfect day Until I awoke, alone in my bed Ooh, I don’t know what to do About this dream and you I wish this dream comes true
