Jane Levi

Bighorn River was an exhilarating place to spend our afternoon Illustrator Brian Merte, 13, for “Brotherhood” by Kevin Wang, 11. Published September/October 2007. A note from William Rubel The rainbow gracing the waterfall splashing into a lake rich with insects and fish in the illustration by Brian Merte is an idealized glimpse of the natural world. To help us believe in this dream vision Brian is careful to draw accurately many of the picture’s components–such as the acorns, dragonflies, and cattails. The drawing was commissioned by our then editor, Gerry Mandel, to go with the story, “Brotherhood,” published 12 years ago, in 2007. Once you have enjoyed the artwork I’d like you to pay attention to the magnificent language you will encounter in the story it illustrates, by Kevin Wang. In particular, I’d like you to notice how he brings a poetic expression to his prose. Here is an example: Crisp, dry auburn leaves were settling to the ground like fairies relishing their last ballet before reaching the forest floor. It is a beautiful simile–”like fairies relishing their last ballet before reaching the forest floor.” It brings the graceful, dancerly movement of falling laves to the mind’s eye. Strictly speaking, Kevin’s story is not about nature. While it takes place in a beautiful place, it is a story about friendship set in a place of natural beauty. Two boys talk by the side of the river. Nature plays its part, but it isn’t in the lead role. Today, I’d like to call your attention to the nonfiction nature writing that you will find in our blogs. Recently, we have published three pieces by Sierra Glassman, two nature videos and one essay on Martha, the last passenger pigeon. Sierra’s videos are well produced and super informative. One of them is about a recent trip to an area of Brazil that is rich in wildlife. The other is about hummingbirds. I hope at least some of you will be inspired by the videos to make a video of your own. Sierra’s essay on passenger pigeons is topical. We are currently at the beginning of what scientists are calling a “great extinction.” Large numbers of insects and animals are going extinct because of human activity. The story of Martha, the last passenger pigeon, has many lessons for us, today. You can find Sierra’s three blog posts here.  Lukas Cooke is one of our most consistent bloggers. Thank you Lukas! Lukas often writes about nature. All of his writing is worth reading. His most recent post, Alien Serenity is about visiting Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California. Lukas’ post has inspired me to schedule a visit to this park with my daughter later in the year. William’s Weekend project For this weekend’s project I want you to do or make something about nature. Use one of the Stone Soup blog posts as a project example: describe a place you have visited, explain something about the natural world, talk about climate change, habitat loss, or something else that threatens nature, make a scientific drawing, or, like Sierra, a nature video. If a nonfiction work on nature doesn’t appeal to you then, like Kevin, the author of “Brotherhood,” use a well described natural place as the setting for a story. As always send us anything you are happy with. We always look forward to seeing your work. Until next week Stone Soup news! Audio recordings: If you didn’t check out our SoundCloud files last week, please go to website and listen to a few of the stories. If you like what you hear–Stone Soup authors reading their own stories and poetry–then please follow us. New material is posted regularly. This is mostly directed at the adults who read the Newsletter. We have started discussions with our web designer and programmer to redesign the website, to improve the look of it and to improve navigation. We trust them to help us get to the next level for something in the region of $5,000. We feel that the website is holding us back, and we are looking forward to bringing the same stellar look of our printed material to our web pages. If you have been thinking about donating to Stone Soup, and if making our website a better showcase for children’s creativity is a project that strikes a chord with you, then this is the time to help out. Thank you. To our adult readers and supporters… The philosopher Socrates tells us that “The secret to change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” Stone Soup exists to inspire, support, develop, and share the creative work of young people: the magazine, website, and books we produce are the Children’s Art Foundation’s contribution to “building the new.” Will you support us? One-off gifts and regular donations, on any scale, help us realize our aims. Find out more about what your gift will achieve by clicking the ‘Donate’ button. Highlights from the past week online As I mentioned in last week’s Newsletter, the way to support our book reviewers, bloggers and the Stone Soup project in general is to subscribe. Several of you did last week–thank you! This week, we have some great new work from our bloggers. Maya V writes about the joys of Sledding, while our nature blogger Lukas Cooke brings you Alien Serenity. From Stone Soup September/October 2007, and The Stone Soup Book of Friendship Stories (2018) Brotherhood By Kevin Wang, 11 Illustrated by Brian Merte, 13 It was a warm, brisk Saturday afternoon, and Jack and I couldn’t wait to get to the river. Crisp, dry auburn leaves were settling to the ground like fairies relishing their last ballet before reaching the forest floor. We knew they would soon be buried under mounds of snow, obscuring the path to the forest. The wind snapped at our faces as we sprinted over rolling hills that made their way into the lush forest. We ran along the path, kicking aside piles of leaves which had formed a quilt of a million pieces for us. Jack suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, and I stumbled, falling onto the path. “What is it, buddy?” I asked him, as I picked

Casping shivered as the cold winter wind blew open the curtains Illustration by Anton Dymtchenko, 13 for “Secrets in the Forest” by Eleyna Rosenthal, 13, published in Stone Soup, November/December 2006. A note from Jane Levi I am writing this newsletter—the last of 2018—sitting by a roaring fire in the English countryside with my friend’s dog on one side and a large mug of tea on the other. Bliss! I love the days between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, when almost everyone is still on holiday, I have a pile of new books to read—if I’ve been lucky with my presents—and I can alternate between long walks, cosy fires, and another delicious snack. I hope all of you have your own version of holiday happiness, whichever holidays you celebrate, and that you are experiencing it as another new year approaches. As well as looking forward to 2019 and making plans for all the new projects we’ll be tackling and work we’ll be publishing next year, the holidays have been a time to reflect on what we accomplished in 2018. It’s quite extraordinary to be able to pile all the magazine issues and books up on the table and see just how many incredible pieces of art, poetry, stories, reviews, and blog posts you all made last year. Congratulations to all of our amazing contributors. Stone Soup would not exist without you, and we are constantly in awe of your creativity and hard work. Thank you! Last February we published one of my favorite stories of the year: an alternative fairy tale, called “The Waterfall,” by 12-year-old Natalie Warnke. In that story, the fairy-tale princess makes it clear that being a princess isn’t necessarily all it’s cracked up to be. For this week’s newsletter, I’ve chosen another kind of fantasy story about a princess: a classic princess-in-trouble-and-in-need-of-rescue (albeit by a rescuer with a twist!). I enjoyed rereading both stories and thinking about the different ways each one approached the genre. It was a useful reminder that there is always a new way to tell an old kind of story. I also love the illustration that goes with this week’s story, and the way it uses almost every trope of fairy-tale fantasy. It was a strong contender for the cover of our new edition of The Stone Soup Book of Fantasy Stories. Besides being a glorious snow scene, it has a perfectly turreted castle, a magical old-fashioned horse-drawn coach, and a princess with streaming golden hair. Even the feathered hat and moustache of the carriage driver give it a fantastical air! Perhaps some of you will take inspiration from the drawing or the stories and remake an old story in a new guise. If you do, please send it to Emma via our Submittable link so we can consider it for publication. And, whatever you do to bring in the new year, we wish you all a happy and merry one—and we cannot wait to see what you create in 2019! Happy new year! This week on the blog Don’t miss Maya V’s thoughtful piece on The Pittsburgh Synagogue, reflecting on how different people respond differently to terrible events. Year-end donations Thank you so much to all of you who have answered our call for donations over the last few weeks–and through the year. We are truly grateful and thrilled to feel the strength of support for our work. Click here if you didn’t receive the donor drive letter, or would like to read its message again. More free subscriptions given away in our 45th birthday promotion Congratulations to our latest winners!   Stone Soup is 45 years old this year. We are celebrating that milestone by offering free subscriptions and prizes as we strive to win 1,000 new subscribers before the end of the year. Every 45th subscriber receives a free subscription—more than twenty have already been awarded. The 450th subscriber has been sent their parcel of books, and their free subscription has been awarded. The 900th will shortly be on its way! The 1,000th subscriber (we are so nearly there) will receive a free subscription, plus all 10 books, plus a free site license for the institution (school or public library) of their choice. It’s easy to subscribe: visit this page. This particular promotion will continue until we meet our target or get to the end of the year, whichever comes first. Please share this with everyone you think would benefit from joining the readership of Stone Soup. And don’t forget, you (and anyone you share the code with) can get a 10% discount on your annual subscription using the code CHEER2018 on our subscription form.   Published in Stone Soup, November/December 2006, and in the Stone Soup Book of Fantasy Stories Secrets in the Forest By Eleyna Rosenthal, 13 Illustrated by Anton Dymtchenko, 13 Casping peered out of the curtains hiding her in the carriage speeding down a gravel road. A guard on the seat beside her grunted and reached over to pull her back inside. With a sigh of grief and understanding, Casping sat back against the silk-covered seat. She hung her head and let the burning sensation behind her eyes ascend. She let her soft blond hair cover her pale, angelic face as she wept. The carriage took a sharp turn, stopping her in the middle of a sob. She quickly reminded herself this was all for the best. She needed to stay hidden, and stay safe. Death was not an option; she needed to survive long enough to rule her parents’ kingdom. If she did not hide, then surely her family’s enemy, the powerful Rasha, would find and kill her. Casping knew she must accept her fate. Besides, her family must really love her to go to these measures of safety. Casping shivered as the cold winter wind blew open the curtains. She caught a glimpse of frost-covered trees and bushes and wondered what it would be like living in the middle of a deserted forest. At least she would have a cabin to live

“A white Christmas,” she said happily. “It’s been a longtime since we’ve had one of those” Illustration by William Gwaltney, 12 for his story “A Calf for Christmas” published in Stone Soup, November/December 2007. A note from Emma Wood I grew up celebrating Christmas. Even though I’m now all grown up, it remains a very special time of year for me. Returning to Christmas every year reminds me of all the Christmases I’ve celebrated in my life, and it makes me feel nostalgic. This means I am filled with longing for the past. Being nostalgic makes me eager to recreate the traditions I grew up with: like my mother, I listen to the Vienna Boys’ Choir as we trim the tree, make Spritz cookies, eat a lot of raw dough, and if I am in New York City—where I grew up and my parents still live—I enjoy going to hear Christmas carols at church on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day, I usually get up early and go running in Central Park. Then my family and I make pancakes and open presents while listening to Handel’s Messiah. Later in the day, we go to our family friends’ house, the Darlings, for dinner, and enjoy a special Christmas cake called a Bûche de Noël. But since I got married, I have had to learn to embrace new traditions—and to get used to celebrating Christmas in a new way. My husband has a large family in Utah. He and his parents and his sister open presents in the morning at their grandparents’ house. A big part of their Christmas is the stockings, which they fill (usually to the point of spilling over!) with little gifts like yummy snacks, chapsticks, and socks. Later that day, all of his aunts and uncles and the many cousins descend on the house for Christmas lunch. Everyone hangs out in the living room, talking, reading, maybe even watching a movie, or taking a nap. Sometimes, the younger kids go outside and play in the snow. It is a fun, relaxing day. Once my husband and I have a family of our own, we will have to decide which traditions from our childhoods we will want to keep and which new traditions we would like to introduce into our family. Whatever holiday you celebrate, I invite you to think about what traditions your family has this time of year, and what makes this time of year feel special for you. Or maybe, for whatever reason, you hate this time of year. Regardless of how you feel, I encourage you to try to explore those feelings and the reasons behind them through writing or art. Can you write a piece or take a photograph that captures your or your family’s holiday “mood”? When you’re done, please consider submitting your work via Submittable. I hope you are savoring the time you are spending together as a family or with friends. You are making memories that you will treasure as an adult. Happy holidays!   Year-end donations Thank you so much to all of you who have answered our call for donations over the last few weeks–and through the year. We are truly grateful and thrilled to feel the strength of support for our work. Click here if you didn’t receive the donor drive letter, or would like to read its message again. This week on the blog Stone Soup has published beautiful watercolors and photographs of birds by Sierra Glassman over the past couple of years. (Her “Mountain Quail” is even the cover of our new edition of The Stone Soup Book of Animal Stories!). Now she has written a wonderful blog post about Passenger Martha, the last passenger pigeon. More free subscriptions given away in our 45th birthday promotion Congratulations to our latest winners! Stone Soup is 45 years old this year. We are celebrating that milestone by offering free subscriptions and prizes as we strive to win 1,000 new subscribers before the end of the year. Every 45th subscriber receives a free subscription—more than a dozen have already been awarded. The 450th subscriber has been sent their parcel of books, and their free subscription has been awarded. The 900th will get the same prize when we reach that target. It could be you, or someone you refer in the next week or so! The 1,000th subscriber will receive a free subscription, plus all 10 books, plus a free site license for the institution (school or public library) of their choice. It’s easy to subscribe: visit this page. This particular promotion will continue until we meet our target or get to the end of the year, whichever comes first. Please share this with everyone you think would benefit from joining the readership of Stone Soup. And don’t forget, you (and anyone you share the code with) can get a 10% discount on your annual subscription using the code CHEER2018 on our subscription form. Holiday shopping For holiday gifts: all print subscriptions and other book and product orders made directly with us ship within two days of being received. All orders received for the remainder of the year will be sent by Priority Mail. And don’t forget, you can buy Stone Soup Annuals and Books of… at Amazon, too. For last-minute shoppers: Digital subscriptions (and the digital portion of combined print/digital subscriptions) are available immediately! Print and digital subscriptions via our website, Stonesoup.com. Use code CHEER2018 on annual subscriptions and receive a 10% discount (until December 31 only) Annuals, anthologies, notebooks, and sketchbooks, via our online store, Stonesoupstore.com Published in Stone Soup, November/December 2007, and in the Stone Soup Book of Festival & Holiday Stories A Calf for Christmas Written and illustrated by William Gwaltney, 12 It was Christmas Eve, and everything was ready. Presents had been purchased with great care months before. Yesterday they had been wrapped in dozens of pretty papers and decorated with beautiful bows. Now they sat like sparkling jewels in a pirate’s treasure chest, under the fragrant boughs of a giant spruce. The farmhouse was filled with tinsel