I’m Fine Kathleen Werth, 10 I utilized Bandlab (an app with drum beats and mixing options) to put the layering of my song together and form music. You can listen to it at Soundcloud, and read the lyrics below. https://soundcloud.com/user-28081890/im-fine-by-kathleen-werth-age-10-written-and-performed-in-may-2020 I’m Fine Kathleen Werth, 10 Never thought it’d come to this. Hearts beat louder than a gunshot. It’s all too much to bear, can’t take it. It’s all too much to weigh my shoulders with. But I’m fine, I’m fine, I keep it on the inside. I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m scared, I’m scared. I’m scared to keep it on the inside. I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m scared. Never thought it comes to this. This is all too much to take. My chest is pounding, I can’t take a rest. Never know. But I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m fine to keep it on the inside. I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m scared. You know it’s true. Maybe you feel it too. You know it’s true. I’m not the only one! ‘Cause I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m fine to keep it on the inside. I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine. But I’m scared, I’m scared. I’m scared to keep it on the inside. I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m scared.
Young Bloggers
Graduation, a cartoon by Natya Chandrasekar, 12
Natya Chandrasekar, 12Palo Alto, CA Graduation Natya Chandrasekar, 12 With lot of seniors and family friends kids graduating and some of them are feeling very sad and upset that they cannot celebrate and party. I wanted to show that the virus has changed all our lives but we can still be very thankful and lot of the schools and teachers are trying to find ways to celebrate them. Congratulation class of 2020 !!! there is still hope for all of us. Natya is selling prints of all of her cartoons to raise funds for a nonprofit organization in her local area called REF (Ravenswood Education Foundation), which has established an emergency fund to provide financial relief related to the school closures due to COVID-19. Ninety percent of students in the school area qualify for free and reduced-price lunch, and the majority of their parents work hourly service jobs. REF is working closely with the school district to plan and address specific needs, including in technology and distance learning, food and food distribution, emergency childcare, and financial support. We at Stone Soup are very happy to support Natya in spreading the word, and congratulate her on her work and her fundraising efforts for her community–well done, Natya! You can look at the complete collection of cartoons and choose your favourites either in this Dropbox Folder or Google Drive folder, and write to Natya if you would like to obtain a copy of your own. You may pay for the prints either by making a direct donation to REF here, or discussing directly with Natya and her family.
Book Club Report: Out of My Mind, by Sharon M. Draper (cont.)
An update from our seventh Stone Soup Book Club meeting! This week, during our 7th meeting of the Stone Soup Book Club, we were very lucky to have Adam Gidwitz, the author of The Inquisitor’s Tale come and join our discussion for a little while! We had the exciting opportunity to ask Mr. Gidwitz questions about his book, and about writing overall. We listened as he explained how he came up with the characters of Jeanne, William, and Jacob, as well as how all of the events of the story came together. We found out how Mr. Gidwitz settled on his unique style of narration in his book, what inspired him to tackle all of the subjects that he did, and we learned about the perseverance that all authors have. Our conversation was very thoughtful and meaningful, and it was a great experience all around! We did not have much time left after our discussion with Mr. Gidwitz, but we used our remaining time to talk about the ending of Out of My Mind, by Sharon M. Draper, the book that we had been reading over the past week. In a similar fashion to Gidwitz’s The Inquisitor’s Tale, Out of My Mind talks about differences in people and about overcoming adversity in your path. It was very cool to see what connections people drew between the two stories! Finally, we chose our next book, and the book that we will read after that one! Participants: Anya, Djin, Georgia, Lena, Chloe, Joanna, Katie, Enni, Lucy, Abhi, Isabel, Chloe C., Rachel, Madeline, Kaya, Allegra, Penelope, Sophia, Ariana Our Next Book (6/3, 6/10): Lord of the Flies, by William Golding Our Second-Next Book (6/17, 6/24): The List, by Patricia Forde The Stone Soup Book Club is open to all Stone Soup contributors and subscribers, age 9-13, during the COVID-19-related school closures and shelter-in-place arrangements. We meet every Wednesday for one hour via Zoom to discuss our chosen book, and always welcome new members! Join us!
