Desolation By Sabrina Lu, 13 (Ashburn, VA), published in Stone Soup October 2021 A note from Caleb Happy Halloween, Dia de los Muertos, & Samhain to all who celebrate! For a good scare make sure to check out writing from our 26th Writing Workshop on horror! This week I want to draw your attention to Renee Wang’s brilliant short story, “Memories,” and the artwork that accompanies it, Desolation, by Sabrina Lu. Both of these pieces are linked by the concept of inner reflection. “Memories” is placed within the frame of a man reflecting on his life; Desolation is presented to us through an aerial perspective so that the viewer looks down at the snow globe, as if inspecting it from a new angle, searching for some kind of epiphany. In “Memories,” the man turns inwards in order to escape his “retirement home… as grey as his soul.” In Desolation, we can imagine someone who’s grown bored of looking at their snow globe in its traditional manner and has thus changed their means of perception. But, as we learn by the end of “Memories,” and as is hinted by the title of “Desolation,” neither of these efforts brings happiness: the man deserts his memories for the pleasure of the cherry tree, while the aerial view of the snow globe—an item often associated with the comfort of nostalgia—makes the artist think of desolation. Regardless of these works’ ultimate conclusions surrounding the fruitfulness of reflection or of a change in perspective, this week I want you to pick an object from your house that you’ve grown used to seeing in its typical form. Once you’ve chosen this object, I want you to look at it in a completely different manner—upside down, sideways, from above, from below, anything that’s different—and either take a picture, draw it, write about it, or do some combination of all of these. This exercise is intended to push you outside of your comfort zone and reveal things you didn’t know you knew. As always, if you are happy with what you create and think that our editor, Emma Wood, might like it for Stone Soup, then please submit it to us via Submittable! Until next time, Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at on our blog! Madeline Schor, 13, wrote a stellar essay—”Awareness… Reflection… Awareflectness!”—that relied on a distinct, serpentine memory in order to explore themes regarding climate change, the power of reflection, and the COVID-19 pandemic. From Stone Soup October 2021 Memories By Renee Wang, 13 (Champaign, IL) Theodore Colin looked out from his too-small chair in his roach-ridden room. The majestic cherry tree stood outside, greeting him as always. It was the only color in his life; his retirement home was as grey as his soul. He recalled, as if it was seared into his brain, what his doctor had told him yesterday: he would have only a few days to live. As he’d dragged his feet back to his room, he could hear his nurse weeping, and when he’d told his friends yesterday, a few tears trickled down their faces. As he’d delivered the news to his sister, his only living relative, he could remember the silence that had followed. It was ironically loud. When he had gotten back to his prison, he sat down at his chessboard, randomly moving pieces about. He pushed it away in disgust. But even though the news saddened those close to him, he himself did not grieve. That night, his eyes were sore from staring into space. He could feel the chronic illness eating through him like a mold. It had gnawed at him unflinchingly for so many years, consuming the very thing that was keeping him alive. He rubbed his head and looked up. Again, the flowering cherry tree that stood outside his window was there to smile at him. Even though it was painfully pink, the same color as the cancer that was killing him, its long branches swayed like grass, waving to him, inviting him to relive the memories of his glorious younger days. Suddenly, he was hit with a snowball of nostalgia as he was brought back into his memories. Continue reading “Memories” here… Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498. 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.
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Saturday Newsletter: October 23, 2021
Aspiration, by Audrey Li, 12 (Scarsdale, NY), published in Stone Soup October 2021 A note from Emma This week, I’d like us all to turn toward Sarah Süel’s story “Treacherous Climb.” Occasionally I get letters from young Stone Soup readers and writers (and some parents as well!) telling me that the work we publish is too serious and sad. It is true that much of what we publish is heavy, not light. But that is because literature often emerges from those heavier topics—experiences that prompt loneliness, introspection, and reflection—and also because it is those difficult experiences that prompt conflict and change (both of which help create plot!). Finally, it is simply more difficult to write about lighter topics or in a light or funny style. On the page, jokes can easily fall flat. So, I’m always thrilled when I come across a piece like “Treacherous Climb”—one that is light-hearted, energetic, and whimsical while also being full of interesting words and ideas. “Treacherous Climb” tells the story of Kate’s mission to scale a seemingly impossible mountain, nicknamed Mt. Treacherous—with her pet mouse, Hammy. The adventure that ensues is as fun as its premise promises. But it’s also full of the most wonderful metaphors: milk that looked like the milk that comes out of a dandelion stem when you pull it out of the ground to make a wish an idea popped into my head like popcorn does when it’s roasted over a fire a wrecking ball of wind [the ledge] was like water to hold on to The squeeze made me feel like a lemon getting squeezed into lemonade. …And many more you’ll discover as you read the story! It is these moments that made me decide to publish the piece in the magazine. This weekend, I challenge you to write a light and fun story, personal narrative, or poem that is still seriously literary! One that has a fun premise and has fun with language, and that I will have fun reading. We need more pieces like this for the magazine; I look forward to reading what you write. Till next time, Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at on our blog! Ian, 12, wrote a review of the PBS documentary series Asian Americans, which provided an inside look into the full extent of hardships experienced by the Asian American community. Olivia Shekou, 12, wrote “We’re the Resilient Generation, Not the COVID Generation,” a hybrid essay/book review that highlighted the strength of both Generation Z and Generation Alpha throughout the pandemic. Chloe, 9, wrote her poem, “Coronavirus,” in hope for a better tomorrow. From Stone Soup October 2021 Treacherous Climb By Sarah Süel, 10 (San Diego, CA) “Squeak!” I was feeding my pet mouse, Hammy, some savory cheese I’d ripped off my sandwich. My eyes, as blue as the sea that peeked over the top of the trees and poked around the mountain that loomed above us, gazed affectionately at him. His cheeks were ballooned up, his eyes were bright and full of life, his fluffy grey fur was glowing in the morning sun, and his tiny but sharp claws held the cheese tight. I was sitting with my legs crossed on a bench as rough as sandpaper, but it never had given me a splinter. I wore a light dress and simple shoes. My cheeks were as pink as a rose, and my hair went from brown to a gold like the sun when it has just risen. I wore earrings the color of the lovely lavender that grows in a clearing in the forest; they are made out of a pearl and shaped into a heart. I had my hair in a braid to keep it neat while I worked. After we were done with our breakfast, I put Hammy in my pocket and went out to milk the cow. I came back a few minutes later holding two buckets full of milk that looked like the milk that comes out of a dandelion stem when you pull it out of the ground to make a wish. I gave the buckets to my mother to strain and make into cheese. I went outside and grabbed a dandelion. I blew a warm stream of air at it and watched the fluffy seeds float into the sky till they disappeared. I gazed across the freshwater lake that was right outside our village. As I gazed there, I remembered that I wished for an adventure and, if I looked, I would find one. And if I did, I would be ready. Continue reading more of “Treacherous Climb” here… Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498. 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.
Saturday Newsletter: October 16, 2021
“A Tangled World” By Elodie Weinzierl, 11 (Waban, MA), published in Stone Soup October 2021 A note from William I hope all is well with our extended Stone Soup family. I took my first post-COVID vacation last week. I drove up from Santa Cruz, California to the Mendocino coast, north of San Francisco, to visit a friend I had not seen since October 2019 when we had traveled in Japan together researching the culinary use of that fabulously colorful mushroom, Amanita muscaria. That is the mushroom many of you will know from the mushroom emoji 🍄. I cooked meals on the fireplace, found about thirty pounds of the porcini mushroom in one fabulously lucky hunt, and came home refreshed! It is my great pleasure today to announce that Stone Soup is collaborating with our summer school partner, Naomi Kinsman, and her staff at Society of Young Inklings to test the waters for selling Stone Soup site licenses to schools. I have not talked much about Stone Soup sales here in the newsletter, but for the last several years they have been dismal. Times changed, and print subscriptions to private homes have largely gone out of fashion. So, with the help of Naomi and her Young Inklings colleagues, we are doing a proper market study of how the online Stone Soup magazine, blog posts, workshop texts, and creativity prompts can be used to teach creative writing in schools. Thank you, Naomi, for your help with this. There is other good news since I last wrote the newsletter. We have received a sizable COVID-19 relief grant from the state of California—$15,000!—and a truly substantive pledge towards our upcoming Annual Drive by one of our Stone Soup donors, a true angel (though more on that when we launch our 2021 Annual Drive). Taken together, we are now in the best financial position we have been in years, which is fabulous because it means we can start growing Stone Soup again. Several of us on the Stone Soup staff joined in the virtual awards ceremony at the Green Earth Book Award (GEBA) ceremony on Thursday, October 7, for Abhi Sukhdial’s Three Days till EOC, the novel that won our Long Form fiction contest in 2019. The awards ceremony was the kickoff to a three-day-long EnviroKids Literacy Festival. Our Stone Soup store is down this week as we are reorganizing it, so for now please order Three Days till EOC at Amazon. Abhi’s book was the only winning title by a child. Elodie Weinzier shows us “A Tangled World” in the complex patterns formed by twisted and arching branches. I really like her photograph. It is actually a kind of photograph that I have taken many times myself as I have personal interest in plants and the shapes they make. Like Elodie, I often see stories in plant shapes. To me, her photograph speaks of energy, of time, of an unfolding life, one that shifts in response to events becoming more interesting, varied, and complex over time. For today’s project, I’d like you to use your phone’s camera to find a pattern in nature that speaks to you. Once you find the pattern that interests you, begin experimenting with framing that image with your camera by moving it around and changing distance and angles as necessary to capture your vision. Take at least ten photographs of each pattern that interests you, and then choose which image of each pattern you like best. Complete the task by deleting the rest. This last step can be difficult, but in the end, as the artist, you need to choose the photograph that most speaks to you. Until next week, Congratulations to our most recent Flash Contest winners! Our October Flash Contest was based on Creativity Prompt #172 (provided by Molly Torinus, Stone Soup contributor), which asked participants to perform the meta task of writing about somebody writing a story. The result was a wave of submissions unlike we have ever seen, making the selection process this month even more difficult. We read stories that anthropomorphized bananas, that projected protagonists’ lives far into the future, that literally wrote out entire stories within stories, and much, much more. In the end, we wound up with five winners and five honorable mentions whose fantastic and distinct work gives shape to a bright and promising future! As always, thank you to all who submitted, and please submit again next month! Congratulations to our Winners and Honorable Mentions, listed below. You can read the winning entries for this contest (and previous ones) at the Stone Soup website. Winners “With Great Power…” by Jack Liu, 13 (Livingston, NJ) “Words” by Lui Lung, 12 (Danville, CA) “Myrtle and Sage” by Pranjoli Sadhukha, 11 (Newark, OH) “Rejection Miracle” by Alexandra Steyn, 12 (Greenwich, CT) “Coffee Mates” by Emily Tang, 12 (Winterville, NC) Honorable Mentions “Crumpled Papers” by Anushka Dhar, 12 (Hillsborough, NJ) “Charlotte’s Unusual Story” by Hannah Francis, 11 (Stanford, CA) “Writer’s Block” by Nova Macknik-Conde, 10 (Brooklyn, NY) “It Should Bother You” by Violet Solana Perez, 13 (Scarsborough, ON, Canada) “Behind the Counter” by Eliya Wee, 11 (Menlo Park, CA) Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers on our blog! Vivaan, 12, wrote a riveting review of Lois Lowry’s classic, Newbery Award-winning novel The Giver. Sita, 12, wrote a comprehensive review of the renowned TV series Community, which ran from 2009 to 2015. Ismini, 12, reviewed Ginger Johnson’s brand new novel The Other Side of Luck. From Stone Soup October 2021 Oak By Graham Terbeek, 10 (Towson, MD) My name is Oak. And if you didn’t already guess, I am a tree. I’ve heard rumors of trees that grow delicious fruit, Of trees that bloom exotic flowers, Or even trees that are so tall that it seems they can see the whole world. It must be nice having a purpose. I don’t have anything special about me. Just your typical, everyday tree. I live in the backyard of a small house. People rarely go in and out. I keep to myself. I don’t mind, really. I’m used to being alone. Years ago, I wasn’t
