A World of Color (watercolor) by Leticia Cheng, 10; published in the January/February 2024 issue of Stone Soup A note from Emma Wood Happy New Year, all! Every year, I complain about New Year’s and yet every year, I enjoy the opportunity to reflect on the past year and resolve to be better, in some small ways, in the next. Every year, I also think about what I can do to improve Stone Soup! As many of you know, like many magazines, Stone Soup has struggled to find its footing in the digital era. This year, the Stone Soup board and I are continuing to work hard, re-examining the budget and exploring partnership opportunities, to ensure that Stone Soup can live on and thrive. We are extremely grateful to all of you who donated in 2023; thank you so much for helping support our mission! My high school had a weekly, student-run newspaper I was extremely involved in, as a writer and an editor. Over the break, a friend sent me an old article from that paper, reminding me just how incredible it was to feel like we were doing the work of actual journalists, just on a smaller scale. I learned so much from my time there, and it is where I first began to see myself as a writer. For some reason, I had never connected that experience with Stone Soup! But I see now how similar they are—and realizing this makes me feel even more connected to, and passionate about, what we do. This year, we will continue to run our weekly writing workshops, starting January 27, and we encourage you to sign up for Conner Bassett’s Fiction Writing class, “Six Beginnings, Three Middles, and An End,” while there is still room—we currently have six spaces left! Conner was so blown away by the novels his students wrote in the fall, and is excited to write more fiction with many of you this winter. Yours from our last day in Las Vegas, where we have been visiting family and friends the past couple of weeks, Purchase a Gift Subscription Register for Writing Workshops Support Stone Soup 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.
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Saturday Newsletter: December 23, 2023
A Light to Hope By (pastel) by Leticia Cheng, 10; published in the November/December 2023 issue of Stone Soup A note from Tayleigh Greene Dear readers, As a kid, I remember spending entire days of winter break curled up reading by the light of a lamp not unlike the one so beautifully drawn by Leticia Cheng, 10, pictured above. These days, it’s rare that I have the opportunity to devote several hours in a row to reading; the many to-do’s of adulthood keep me busy. By the time you read this newsletter, I will have flown from my current home in Houston to my childhood home in California, to spend time with my mom, dad, and three brothers. I am so looking forward to being there with them, and I’m also looking forward to the “getting there.” I love flying because I have the rare chance to read without distractions, no chores to take care of, no internet. This holiday break, I hope you, no matter what age you are, devote some time to the simple pleasures that we tend to neglect, like curling up with a good book—or the latest issue of Stone Soup. If you’re not yet subscribed to Stone Soup, I am so excited to announce that we’re offering 50% off print + digital annual subscriptions for a limited time only. Enter the code happyholidays! at checkout to save on the magazine 100% written and illustrated by kids. This is an incredible deal; a sale of this scale won’t be offered again for a while. So, if you’re in need of some last minute gifts for the kids or educators in your life, there’s no better present, and no better time than the present. Looking ahead to 2024, I’m pleased to share that we’re offering an all new fiction writing workshop with long-time Stone Soup instructor Conner Bassett. Fiction Writing: Six Beginnings, Three Middles, and an End will meet Saturdays, January 27 through April 6, 2024 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Pacific time. Tickets are selling quickly, and space is limited, so I encourage you to register as soon as possible to secure your spot. Warmest wishes, P.S. As 2023 comes to a close, so does our Annual Drive. If you’re able to, please donate today using the button below and help us empower kids to be the authors of their own stories. Purchase a Gift Subscription Register for Writing Workshops Support Stone Soup 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.
Saturday Newsletter: December 9, 2023
Glance (graphite by Saira Merchant, 13; published in the November/December 2023 issue of Stone Soup A note from Emma Wood Dear readers, As I’ve gotten older, and as the holidays have grown in significance (as they do when you have young children for whom they are magical and new and thrilling!), they have also seemed to grow even closer in time: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas—with multiple family birthdays thrown in! And there is so much to do for each: plan travel, prepare meals for large groups that fit all the dietary needs, buy and wrap meaningful presents, coordinate holiday parties and school events, somehow make time to slow down and reflect on the past year, and, of course, give to causes that matter to me. So I am grateful that you are taking the time to read this letter now, whether you are standing in line at the post office reading this on your phone, or sitting down on a sofa at home. Right now, the causes that are dear to me, as a teacher and educator with two young children, involve both education and children (not counting Stone Soup!). I like participating in coordinated efforts to buy gifts for families who can’t afford to—to help perpetuate both the magic of Christmas and the spirit of generosity that animates it. In her memoir “Halloween Guilt” from our November/December issue, Yanling Lin explores what it feels like to do the “right” thing versus the “wrong” thing. While her story discusses trick-or-treating, and specifically whether to take more candy than is allowed, the lesson applies to life. As she watches a boy dump an entire bowl of candy into his bag, Lin writes, “I wished I’d had the nerve to do so without any mental quandaries. At the same time, I liked that my morals were strong enough to keep me from doing the same.” I love the reminder, wrapped in a metaphor, that this memoir gives us: not to take more than our share and to leave resources for others who are yet to come—another way of giving. As you reflect on your year and on the causes you plan to support, I hope you will consider including Stone Soup among them. It has been a tumultuous year for the organization but I am proud of all we have accomplished in our fiftieth year and very grateful to be a part of it all. Thank you for supporting us as readers, writers, artists, and more! Warmly, Support Stone Soup Purchase a Gift Subscription From Stone Soup November/December 2023 Halloween Guilt by Yanling Lin, 11 Every year on Halloween night, I spot something bewildering. I spot something that makes me audibly gasp, guffaw, or simply gawk. This year was no exception. The moment took place long into the night, catching me more off guard than usual. * * * Rewinding back to earlier during Halloween evening, I sat by the window watching the sun set. I had scarfed down dinner and pulled on my costume, only to wait for my mom to finish as well. “The candy will still be there in fifteen minutes,” my mom told me. That was easy for her to say. She was only a bystander in the game of gathering sweet treats from neighbors. I was a player. After enough pleas and other people going outside, we finally joined the parade. The golden glow of the sun waving “goodnight” kept my breathing even. In my mind, I had all night to collect sweets from around the neighborhood. I sauntered along the sidewalk, letting the giddy five- and six-year-olds sprint past, knowing they had to be in bed by nine o’clock. As darkness descended, I became those giddy kids running from door to door. The night was growing, and so was my desire for candy. I passed numerous empty houses as I traipsed down the unlit sidewalks. With each step I heard my boots scratching against the ground, creating a rhythmic thump-thump. The bag handles sank into my flesh, slowing me down. That didn’t stop me from going on. I half-skipped between doorsteps, my “Trick or treat!” bouncing as I spoke it. I powered through the night because within those dark alleys were the treasure troves of Halloween. Many of these dark houses were accompanied by bowls of candy. Attached to these bowls were signs saying “Please Take 1” (or “2,” if I was lucky). These directions posed a moral dilemma. As I dug through the bowls, I wondered, Do I follow my own goals, or obediently do as told? Click here to find out what happens next. 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.
