Stone Soup Magazine

Story·Molly Ostertag and Evan Mistur, age 12 — A girl at summer camp bonds with a barn kitten named Oreo, plans to adopt him, but he runs away before she can return from vacation.

Story·Preston Craig, age 10 — A girl who believes she's bad at everything discovers kayaking, overcomes her fear after tipping over, and places second in a race.

Poetry·Timmy McWhirter, age 12 — A boy and his grandmother sit outside a dingy trailer, their bright smiles transforming the worn surroundings into something luminous.

Poetry·Natalie Fine, age 12 — A night in a vibrant city comes alive through sensory details — dancing on cobblestones, lights on water, sleeping on doorsteps under a diamond-filled sky.

Story·Lauren Tompkins, age 11 — An eleven-year-old volunteers at an animal shelter, saves kittens from a fire started by another volunteer, and earns a shy tabby named Trust.

Book Review·Kathryn Lasky, Reviewed by Anthony Cali — Guardians of Ga’Hoole, Book One: The Capture by Kathryn Lasky; Scholastic Inc.: New York, 2003; $4.99 I was excited when I opened the book Guardians of Ga’Hoole, The Capture, by...

Story·Maisie Zipfel — An outcast seventh-grader's wish on a shooting star leads to unexpected friendship when he's paired with the school's intimidating new girl for a biology project.

Story·Annam Nayak, age 12 — A young man who can speak to birds is banished by his father after revealing an unwelcome prophecy, but returns years later wealthy and wise, fulfilling the birds' prediction.

Poetry·Rosemary Engelfried, age 13 — A Pacific Northwest autumn storm transforms Douglas firs and ocean cliffs into a world of fog, rain, and distant waves.

Story·Marlee Rosenthal, age 12 — A girl's memory of discovering chicken pot pie with her aunt transforms an ordinary Thursday dinner at Ponzio's into a sensory celebration of family tradition.