Stone Soup Magazine

Poetry·Miyo Kurosaki, age 12 — Winter sunlight streaming through bare branches becomes a lesson about finding warmth in cold seasons, written in both English and Japanese.

Story·Scott Limbacher, age 10 — An orphan boy expecting wealthy adoptive parents on Christmas Eve discovers his new family is poor but learns they offer something more valuable than material gifts.

Story·Rebecca Orchard, age 12 — On planet Matia 3, where girls are expected to raise families, Retsina attempts her fourth and final chance to become a Space Cadet, competing against boys in a grueling test.

Story·Meredith Allen, age 12 — Two bored suburban kids venture into the swamp seeking a legendary hermit, encounter an alligator, and are saved by the very man they sought.

Story·Mandana Nakhai, age 11 — Twin siblings reminisce on their last night at a summer lake house, discovering through shared memories that their 'boring' summer was actually filled with adventures.

Poetry·Laberije Shala, age 13 — A young refugee from Kosovo mourns her father's death, expressing the emptiness of life without him and her identity as an orphan who brings roses to his grave.

Story·Jack Mesich — A mother cheetah hunts to feed her cubs, then saves them from a grass fire sparked by lightning, losing one cub before finding her again.

Story·Valerie Gill, age 13 — During a power outage, a girl discovers her computer mysteriously working and receives cryptic messages about Earth, humanity as parasites, and her role in learning everything.

Book Review·Jennifer Holm, Reviewed by Kevin Zhou — Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer Holm; HarperCollins Books: New York, 1999; $15.95 Close your eyes and imagine that you’re the only girl on the Nasel River in the state...

Story·Tara Stroll, age 13 — A teenage trapper and his dog get lost in a Canadian blizzard, facing freezing water, injuries, and near-death before finding their way to safety.