This is the first of many guest blog posts that on the Stone Soup blog. Today’s guest blogger is Lukas Cooke, 10, who urges us to think more about nature and how we can protect it. Have you ever wondered what the plants and animals around you feel like? Us humans, we don’t seem to realize that even in the city, the world around us is teeming with life. Beneath our feet, mice, moles, gophers, various insects and bugs, and other natural life live underground. In lakes, oceans, ponds, rivers, and other sources of water fish, water birds, some reptiles, amphibians, and mammals live together. And of course, the creatures we see everyday such as birds, rodents and others live above ground. Plants are alive too. Trees, flowers and bushes grow on the surface of Earth just like we do! Together, plants, animals, rocks, minerals, dirt, and others make up nature. Nature can be beautiful, and quite ugly, but no matter what nature looks like, it plays a very important role. Plants make oxygen, which is what we breath. Humans get food from nature which is essential to our survival, as is true with water. Water is natural too. In short, without nature, humans can’t survive. Neither can any animals either. But despite this fact, something dreadful is happening. The human race is destroying nature. Most of the time, when something is built, part of nature is destroyed. Fumes from machines and vehicles are toxic to animals and plants. Trash and litter tossed away often attract animals that end up suffocating. It is a good thing that the National Park Service is helping create national parks that are protected places in nature where building is illegal. Still, there are many places where you see fields with a few trees. In a while, those places will turn into houses, stores, apartments and other buildings. What people fail to do is see the beauty in even the not so interesting places in nature. We focus on protecting the most beautiful places. If in the end the only places left in nature are the most stunning, they won’t be so amazing anymore. We need to see the best in all the places in the natural world. Nature needs our help. We need nature. I love nature and I want to protect it. There is a man whom I admire greatly, even though he is long dead. John Muir helped create the National Park Service and wrote essays to persuade the government to protect the wild. So let’s reinspire the John Muir legacy!
Young Bloggers
Trade Options for Kyrie Irving
The Cavaliers have engaged in many trade talks for their star point guard Kyrie Irving. Irving has expressed much anxiety to get away from Cleveland, whether or not it has anything to do with LeBron James. There have been many incidents involving bad chemistry between the two. For example, Irving is upset that James leaked the fact that Irving wanted a trade, while James is reported to have said (though he denies) that he was tempted to “Beat Kyrie’s @##.” This may have been building for many years. When James left Cleveland to “take his talents to South Beach [Miami],” Irving was soon to be drafted. (Irving was drafted in 2011; James betrayed his team in 2010.) Though Irving wasn’t on the Cavs when James left, he may have disapproved of the decision. The Cavs have officially attempted to acquire Eric Bledsoe and Josh Jackson from Phoenix in exchange for Irving. Phoenix declined but it seems likely that Irving will not be long for Cleveland. This brings us to the New York Knicks. The Knicks have been a major factor in the Irving trade talks. Arguably their second best player, Carmelo Anthony (Kristaps Porzingis may be their first best), wants a trade. The Knicks might hold off for now, because Irving may be interested in joining them. The Knicks are unwilling to trade Porzingis for Irving trade, however, because Porzingis is a complete player, and still young. The Houston Rockets were a possible destination for Irving before they acquired Chris Paul, also a point guard, from the Clippers. If Irving were traded to the San Antonio Spurs, they would be a powerhouse team, with an Irving/Leonard/Aldridge trio. With Jimmy Butler, Paul George, Chris Paul, and Danilo Gallinari all headed out of their respective cities, the NBA off-season has been wildly chaotic. As a loyal Bulls fan, I was torn up when Jimmy Butler got traded, and I still think of the Clippers as a Chris Paul/Blake Griffin/DeAndre Jordan team, but I accept that this will be a new chapter in the NBA.
Emma T. Capps Stop Action Illustration for Stone Soup
If you are an artist, watch this video! If you are a teacher, then use this video as part of a project in which your students illustrate a story. Art and writing are obviously linked in books for young children, in comics and graphic novels, and also in some of the classic works of children’s literature, like Alice in Wonderland, and Wind in the Willows. Emma T. Capps was a regular illustrator for Stone Soup from 2009 to 2011. Emma and her dad created this amazing time-lapse video, showing Emma creating an illustration for Stone Soup from start to finish. The story she illustrated, “Working for Sparkle,” appeared in the May/June 2011 issue of Stone Soup. Emma continues to make art today. She has developed quite a following for the comic strip she created: “The Chapel Chronicles.” While Emma is no longer a young child she has not stopped drawing. Here is a link to her website. Visit Emma’s website. If you look also at her social media you will see that her interests have expanded since she was a young child. Unfortunately, you will also see that she has some serious medical problems and continues work in spite significant obstacles.
