Stone Soup Magazine

Book Review·Priscilla Cummings, Reviewed by Tahani Al-Salem — A Face First by Priscilla Cummings; Dutton Children’s Books: New York, 2001; $16.99 When Kelley got in the accident it made me realize how precious life really is. The poor...

Poetry·Brendan Grant, age 11 — A poem defines 'alone' through images of isolation: a homeless man at a grocery store, refugees fleeing, a mother who has lost her children, a turban among baseball caps.

Story·Lia Regal, age 12 — A Brooklyn girl finds refuge in basketball as her parents' marriage dissolves, then moves to a coastal farmhouse after the divorce, starting fresh with a new team.

Story·Braden M. McDonald, age 10 — A boy discovers a hidden world beneath his grandparents' farm where woodpecker-rabbit hybrids attack him with hot embers and ice until his grandfather rescues him.

Book Review·Ann Rinaldi, Reviewed by Sarah Bollenbach — Girl in Blue by Ann Rinaldi; Scholastic Press: New York, 2001; $15.95 Girl in Blue was one of the most fascinating and suspenseful books I have ever read. I could...

Story·Rachel Hellwig, age 13 — An aspiring ballerina practices relentlessly for a Nutcracker audition but isn't chosen, only to be called in as an understudy when another dancer falls ill.

Poetry·Brendan Grant, age 11 — A poem that defines 'alone' through images of isolation: a homeless man at a grocery store, refugees fleeing, a pillar in rubble, an Iraqi mother, a turban among baseball caps.

Story·Bonnie Robinson, age 11 — A boy finds a freezing kitten in the snow and fights to save her, discovering his mother's hidden past with pets and her fear of losing them again.

Poetry·Mark Roberts, age 11 — A wooden treasure box carved from Australian jarrah wood tells its centuries-long journey from forest to sailing ship ballast to African railroad ties, now holding memories.

Story·Shelley Noel McFatter, age 13 — An Alaskan trapper obsessed with killing a lynx that's been raiding his traps discovers she has a kitten and chooses compassion over profit.