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Prisha Aswal

Forest Fire, a poem by Prisha Aswal, 8

FOREST FIRE  Sparks Fly  Crackling Sound Trees Down On fire Smoke rises up to the Sky Wolves Howl Bears Flee Ash Fills up the Ground Elk Run for their Lives. Birds and Butterflies try To Escape to Sky Crickets, Worms and Ants Fry Thunder Strikes,  The Wind Blows, Making it Worse Animals Die Trees Burn, Dogs Bark, Fire Spreads Across, Lives Lost Homes Destroyed , Treasures Gone Memories Turned into Smoke Disappear into the Sky  That has Turned Orange and Red.

My Covid Birthday

“Prisha! Pack your bag! We are going to the beach for your birthday!” My mom declares.  It was true, my 8th birthday was coming up. I am always super excited for my birthday and wait for it all year long. This year, however, I didn’t know what to expect. I couldn’t meet my friends and celebrate with them due to Covid. So, when I heard we were going to the beach, I was SOOO excited! “Okay! I will!” I say, and take my luggage. My luggage is light brown, and has a car, blue and orange. In my luggage, I pack a LOT of books. I would guess about 20!  And “Zoom!” A few days later, we headed to the beach. Tomorrow is my birthday! Finally, the 2-hour drive to the beach is over. We arrived at the beach. Aloha Beach! I can’t tell you how much I love beaches. I absolutely adore them. The beach sand was soft, almost like feathers, and relaxingly hot. The waves were the complete opposite, cold as a freezer. And the color. The sand was a yellowish gold, and the waves, more like a skyish blue. We stayed over for the sunset which is one of my most favorite activities to do on a beach – watching the sunset. The sunset was pink, red-orange and  gold, and beautiful. It blazed across the sky. I am always spellbound by the beauty of sunset. I wish I could paint like that on a canvas. We walked along the beach, and lots of logs were there. But I didn’t mind. I was too excited. My birthday is tomorrow!  Hours later… I open my eyes. TODAY is MY birthday. “Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear…..” My parents sang the happy birthday song. Aloha day! Everywhere, there were decorations, and balloons. There was a banner that said 8 on it! My parents must have been awake all night, decorating for me! “Thank you!” I responded with a big smile. I gave my Mom and Dad a hug and peeked out to the terrace. It was indeed a gorgeous day. The sun was out and the waves were waving hello to me  My ordered breakfast arrived. It was pancakes! I love them! I quickly ate them, and then we went to the Prehistoric Museum.  The museum had a fossil area, a geode center, a crystal center, and the bones of ancient animals. It had lots of meteorites and petrified wood as well. There was a huge dinosaur skeleton near the entrance. When we reached the geode center, my dad said I could choose any birthday gift for myself from the museum shop if I wanted. I happily decided to get a Geode and to my surprise the cashier said I can crack it myself! In the geode center, there was a basket of geodes! SOOO many! I picked one, and went to a cracking machine. I put the rock-like geode in the machine, and pulled the lever-thingy and “Crack!” The geode cracked. Inside was a whole new world.  Outside, it just looked like a plain rock, the kind you would think is just a normal rock and kick it aside. But however, tiny, black, and as pretty as a picture, crystals lay on the inside. It was so beautiful and dazzling inside and when the light fell into these crystals, they were shining bright. It looked like a galaxy of stars was  inside the geode. And I’d say THAT is how geodes are related to us, humans. Some people, on the outside, may not look so good, like a geode. But, on the inside, they are beautiful, and they rock!   After the geode experience, we had lunch. Fish and chips with my favorite clam chowder! On the way to our hotel, we got some campfire equipment and headed to the beach!  A few hours later, we set up the campfire on the beach. But we couldn’t because it was too windy. Then I remembered a place in our hotel, where a fire pit was already lit! We went there, and no one was there! A whole place to ourselves! We opened the marshmallows and toasted them. My mom and dad taught me how to make s’mores with them!  Even though I could not celebrate this birthday with my friends, I still had a memorable one. This shows that people should try to make the most of every moment even if it seems you can’t. I also learnt a very important lesson that just like a geode, no matter how people look on the outside, they are beautiful on the inside and we should try to look into it. I really enjoyed my birthday! It rocked!   

These Unlucky Stars, Reviewed by Prisha Aswal

I consider myself incredibly lucky to be one of the very few to be able to read this book before it is even released. Normally I would have used the word “grateful” but I am tempted to use the word “lucky” instead, because it is what this book is about. The name of the book I am reviewing is These Unlucky Stars by Gillian McDunn. But what if I didn’t get this opportunity? Would that make me unlucky? Of course not! There would be many other things in my life that I would be thankful for. The main character in the book is a girl named Annie, a sixth grader, who loves art and is very good at it. However, she feels like she is the odd one out and seems to get into trouble a lot. She lives with her dad and older brother Ray, in a small town named Oak Branch. Her mother left when she was little and just like she blames her luck for everything that happens bad in her life, she believes her mom left her because she is unlucky. Her brother on the other end, she says is an Excellent Citizen, who can do nothing wrong. The story is about Annie’s relationship with an unusual friend she makes named Gloria. Gloria is an old stubborn lady who changes Annie’s life and her perspective to life. On the last day of school, kids decide to play Ding-Dong Ditch. This is when Annie’s and Gloria’s life connects. When the prank goes wrong, Annie is filled with guilt and to make up for it, she helps Gloria for the whole summer and at the same time is worried thinking what if Gloria finds out that she was responsible for her fall. Anyway, while visiting her and helping her out every day, Annie develops an unexpected friendship with Gloria and her dog Otto. To be honest, I could not keep the book down once I reached this part of the story. It was so beautiful and endearing to see their friendship develop. They both didn’t like each other much in the beginning but by the end you see how much they cared and loved each other. Also, the preparations for the town festival are going on and the whole town is coming together for the celebration. They are making floats and helping each other. You feel you are a part of the celebration and want everything to go perfectly. That was a sweet finale to a beautiful story that will make you happy and smile. There were a lot of things I loved about this book. The way the author has written this book, you feel like it is happening in front of your eyes. To start with, I love the setting of the small town. It makes you feel that you know everyone in that town and also the restaurant and the shops seem familiar. The other thing that I loved is how the author has written her characters. All the people in the story seem so real, as if you know them. Annie is a normal girl who has her strengths, as well as weaknesses that she needs to work on. Her Dad is very hardworking and owns a woodworking shop, which is not doing as well now because of the competition with another popular shop. Her bond with her brother and possessiveness about her friend Faith as well as Dad when he invites his new friend Louise for dinner is quite real. Gloria is an old, rude lady who is on a wheelchair now but was once very lively and loved to dance when she was young. She is the one who makes Annie understand that while Annie thinks that it was because of her bad luck that Gloria fell, Gloria thinks it was Annie’s good luck that made them both meet. If I have to pick one thing that I would have liked differently in the book, is that the Gloria part could have been introduced a bit earlier, (earlier than chapter seven) because for me that was when the story became irresistible. I could not keep it down and wanted to know what would happen next. These Unlucky Stars is a very sweet and simple story about relationship, friendship, family, community, caring and helping. I enjoyed reading it. The takeaway from this book (as the author says) is that if you decide to make your own luck and make your own path to happiness, life can be pretty rich. I highly recommend this book  to everyone. These Unlucky Stars by Gillian McDunn. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!