I stood on the top of the tall mountain, relishing every minute, every second, every moment. The cool breeze against my face, the wind toying with my umber coloured hair and the warm glow of the sun warming my skin… When I was surrounded by nature, by trees, flowers, valleys, rivers, and the forest teeming with life; when I was far away from the arguments between my parents, the furniture being thrown around, and the stress of my life, then…
Search Results for: winter
Saturday Newsletter: July 15, 2017
Rachel Alana Fomer Stone Soup Illustrator Rachel Alana, Artist and Former Stone Soup Illustrator I’ve written recently about two Stone Soup authors who have published their own books. This week, I’d like to introduce you to Rachel Alana, who illustrated several stories for the magazine about fifteen years ago as Rachel Stanley. You can find examples of her work in these links: Hermione and Leafy The Flying Angel Diver Rachel, as she puts it, “has been drawing all [her] life.” You can see more of her work,…
Saturday Newsletter: July 8, 2017
The Hunting Season, a novel By Tara Prakash Buy from Amazon.com A Note from William Rubel Firstly, if you haven’t kept up, please read about changes in Stone Soup at this post. If you are a Stone Soup subscriber, please also see the Stone Soup News section, below. And now for the main message of today’s newsletter: Tara Prakash, a longtime Stone Soup reader and Stone Soup honor roll writer, has written a novel, The Hunting Season. As a book author myself, I can…
Saturday Newsletter: June 17, 2017
A Village in Malawi, circa 1975 Wisland Phiri, age 12 Malawi A note from William Rubel Hello everyone School is out, so I know that you will all be spending a lot of time outside this summer doing things. When I look at this picture I like to think about the sounds that we don’t hear but that are implied by the scene—the sounds of chickens, roosters, dogs, and the leaves rustling in the trees. And, of course, even though…
Saturday Newsletter: April 29, 2017
Your Saturday Stone Soup Newsletter — April 29, 2017 — Please share with the young readers in your family Stone Soup’s Advisors: Abby Austin, Mike Axelrod, Annabelle Baird, Jem Burch, Evelyn Chen, Juliet Fraser, Zoe Hall, Montanna Harling, Alicia and Joe Havilland, Lara Katz, Rebecca Kilroy, Christine Leishman, Julie Minnis, Jessica Opolko, Denise Prata, Logan Roberts, Emily Tarco, Rebecca Ramos Velasquez, and Susan Wilky. A Note from Editor William Rubel As I mentioned in last week’s newsletter, we are moving…
Sprinklers
I didn’t mean to set off the school’s sprinkler system, it just happened. It was stupid to put my plastic lunch silverware into the cafe’s microwave, I admit. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone along with Delilah’s dare, but I guess it couldn’t have gotten any worse than it already was. Let’s start at the beginning of the story, where the dares got out of hand. It was a cold, windy night, right on the verge of being winter. The moon…
Home
A tiny ripple spread from the center of the pond as a small stone struck the surface. The delicate lily pads drifted and then settled as the water calmed. A dark shape swam beneath the water, then emerged, the spotted toad settling serenely on top of a dark green leaf floating like a boat. It collapsed under the toad’s weight, reminding Firoz of how fragile life could be. The air hummed all around the small boy sitting on the rocky…
Home
A tiny ripple spread from the center of the pond as a small stone struck the surface. The delicate lily pads drifted and then settled as the water calmed. A dark shape swam beneath the water, then emerged, the spotted toad settling serenely on top of a dark green leaf floating like a boat. It collapsed under the toad’s weight, reminding Firoz of how fragile life could be. The air hummed all around the small boy sitting on the rocky…
The Shopping Incident
“OK, girls,” Mom said. “I’ll be shopping around.” “Good-bye, Mother,” I said impatiently, a little too eager to go browsing with Lauren. I had just turned twelve three days ago, and Mom said I’d be allowed to shop without adult supervision with her in the mall, just at a different store—as long as I was shopping with a friend. When Mom turned away to leave, I grinned at Lauren, who smiled back. “Where should we go first?” I asked. Lauren…
Freedom
I was once a slave, but now I am a teacher. This is my story. The year is 1830, and I am twelve years old. I live on a plantation in South Carolina. I have no kin with me at this plantation. I was separated from my mother at age seven. She was sold to another master. Of the rest of my family I know nothing, except that there were others. At this time of my life I am changing…
