Stone Soup Magazine

Poetry·Molly DellaValla, age 10 — A child observes a busy beach day filled with family chaos, snacks, sandcastles, and the ocean's constant presence, capturing summer's sensory overload.

Poetry·Ilya Ivanović, age 10 — A child traces identity from birth through curiosity and danger to the sadness of moving away, wondering if they'll return to have fun again.

Artwork·Kathleen Werth

Poetry·Genevieve Gray Fink, age 9 — A drive with grandmother from countryside to town traces the fading of a mauve sunrise and warm breeze into cold morning and indifferent crowds.

Artwork·Ula Pomian

Poetry·Griffin Byrne, age 8 — A child addresses a chickadee through lyrical verse, tracing its movement from dawn song through sunset, celebrating the bird's freedom and its lingering presence in memory.

Artwork·Lara Katz

Poetry·Ashley Class, age 10 — A young writer reflects on how staring at an empty wall sparks imagination, claiming it as the source of stories known across the globe.

Poetry·Kate Choi, age 12 — A morning meditation in an oak tree by a brook, where the listener discovers that silence is filled with nature's whispered wisdom and calls to action.