Stone Soup is seeking submissions for a book contest from writers aged 14 and younger. The winning manuscript will be published by Children’s Art...

First Place “No Longer Blue” by Olivia Park, 12 Second Place “The Dreamer” by Claire Nagle, 12 Third Place “A Splash of Water” by Tara Prakash, 12 Honorable...

by Sarah Lynn “No Boundaries” is exploding with color, something I particularly love in artworks. The blues, purples, and greens of the piece are...

First Place ($50) “Steam” by Sabrina Guo, 12 Second Place ($25) “Moonlight” by Ashley Xu, 13 Third Place ($10) “Octopus” by Marco Lu, 12 Honorable...

The most remarkable part of Lena's story as a demonstration of the power of dialogue is the last quarter, where four characters respond to a traumatic event....

Juvenilia is the name given to creative work produced by recognized authors and artists when they were children and young adults. The late eighteenth and early...

We at the Children’s Art Foundation were very lucky to be given these extraordinary felt pen drawings by the Egyptian government in the late 1970s. Besides...

Ballet is an art in which adults partake in a fantasy world that is more often associated with children’s stories. Nobody speaks in a ballet–the classic story...

“Can’t you hear them?” she whispers. “Can’t you hear the angels?” When I think about my grandparents, my head is flooded with vivid memories of them. I hear my...

‘Silhouette City’ by Lara Katz   “Fraction of an Inch” by Abigail Rose Cargo, 13 Either the boat did not want to be withdrawn from the water, or the water did not...

Stone Soup publishes many intriguing and entertaining submissions of poetry, short stories, and book reviews. While the writing is often incredible, the...

Stone Soup Editor Emma Wood talks to Jed Doherty (aka Jedlie) about the inspirational and original work produced by kids, how she thinks about children’s...

Our Editor, Emma Wood, was interviewed by Jim Harrington for his “Six Questions For…” series,  where editors and publishers discuss writing flash fiction, short...

Sometimes at Stone Soup we receive several submissions that have to do with the same topic. Over the past weeks, we’ve received several related to gun violence,...

Years ago, when I was doing contract negotiations for a small advertising agency, the CFO gave me some good advice at the start. Always know what you’re talking...

Here are just a few websites and programs that can be helpful for teaching creative writing for students. From lesson plans to book suggestions, these websites...

The Mother’s Day Gift by Mathew Thompson, age 11, Dallas, Oregon The Clay Pot by Naomi Wendland, age 12, Lusaka, Zambia These two stories deal with the...

We are often asked–and we often wonder–what careers our young authors and illustrators went on to as they grew up, so we were thrilled to hear from Rachel...

This writing activity is based on a very funny Kurt Vonnegut lecture on the shape of stories. In this project, students learn to develop compelling narratives...

Write a story with two lead characters. But before you write the story, write a full character development, at least two typed pages long, for each of the...

Gifted Soup Ingredients from A-Z: Asynchrony “Discover your difference – the asynchrony with which you have been blessed or cursed  and make the most of...

A Brief History of the Vietnam War Note: This is background history for people reading the story My Country and the Way to America written by a child who...

Jane Austen (1775-1817) is one of the the greatest novelists to have written in English. Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Persuasion, to name...

Stream of consciousness can be an effective writing style to use when you have a character who sees and thinks very differently from the other characters. This...

Introduction to this Stone Soup Art and Writing Activity Many of the stories we print in Stone Soup are both written and illustrated by the author. Many...

Introduction to this Stone Soup Writing Activity Here you find Part One of Clea’s story. In a separate activity, we’ll offer the second part. The main story,...

Introduction to this Stone Soup Art Activity Russia is a country with a rich tradition of folk stories and fantasy. Some of this wonderful tradition is...

Introduction to this Stone Soup Writing and Art Activity An island of one’s own… fields and forests and streams… a well-stocked kitchen with stove and...

Introduction to this Stone Soup Writing Activity This excellent story gets to the heart of why lying is wrong. Lying destroys trust between people. And when...

Introduction to This Stone Soup Art Activity Halima’s colorful picture is made in felt pen. It is so completely colored in it looks like painting! But because...

Introduction to This Stone Soup Writing Activity “We Are Looking for Freedom” was written by Marigian one-and-a half-years after she arrived in the United...

Introduction to this Stone Soup Writing and Art Activity “The Enchanted Egg” is a delightful story that plays with ideas and characters commonly found in fairy...

Compilation Video Length: 8:53 This is a video of an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the the publication of  “A Wrinkle in Time.” Children, as well as...

Sarah Kay (born 1988) is an American poet who began performing poetry at age 14. Sarah Kay specializes in spoken-word poetry. The performance aspect of her...

When you want to get something done, is it better to just keep your head down and go a little underground, or is it better to make some noise and get all that...

Most of these contests are open to children from primary and middle school — the primary age range of Stone Soup’s readers. As most of these contests also post...

Taking as inspiration the world of puppeteers for the play “War Horse” this activity teaches students how to use gesture to make animal characters more...

Writers are readers. The purpose of the Young Adult Author Resource Pages is to bring young writers closer to their favorite authors. Through social media and...

Lukas Cooke, our young blogger interested in nature and the environment, recently had the opportunity to read one of Patricia Newman’s books, Plastic Ahoy!:...

This interview inspires two projects: write a story based on a photograph and illustrate a story with photographs. This is a great interview byRansom Riggs. He...

Interview length: 6:22. This is a wonderful interview. Its biggest strength may be Wendelin Van Draanen’s discussion of the importance of persistence. Her own...

Run time 4;25 A strong interview with Renée Ahdieh. The interview focus is on her writing process. • Writes books based on the theme of “choice and...

Interview length: 3:37 Interviews This is a strong interview by Kate Messner for her book, Writing is Magic, or is it?  Her message is simple and...

Author of “A Wrinkle in Time”. . Madeleine l’Engle. Many authors talk about the precision with which they plot out their books, taking pride in being in full...

Reading is one of the best preparations for writing. We are fortunate that through the internet it is possible to keep in touch with living authors through...