Stone Soup Magazine

Book Review·Sharon Creech, Reviewed by Charlotte Kugler — The Wanderer by Sharon Creech; HarperCollins: New York, 20oo; $16.99 About a year ago, my friend recommended The Wanderer to the girls in my Mother-Daughter book club. When she described...

Story·Maya Vilaplana, age 11 — A girl contemplates her love for New York City while recognizing her mother's longing for San Francisco, exploring different kinds of beauty and belonging.

Story·Elena Tennant, age 11 — A seventh-grader befriends a new Muslim student and successfully advocates to the school board for her right to wear a hijab after their teacher bans it.

Story·Maria Lohr, age 13 — Two sisters on their Florida vacation sunrise walk discover baby sea turtles being attacked by seagulls and devise a plan to save them.

Story·Esther Lyon, age 13 — A five-year-old's joy at her first ballet recital turns to tears when she's the only dancer without flowers, until her grandmother picks a makeshift bouquet from the grounds.

Story·Elyse Nicholson, age 13 — A young ranch hand fired for accidentally burning a barn struggles to find work until one rancher gives him a second chance, leading to his vindication when the real arsonist...

Story·Brittany Newell, age 10 — A girl finds escape and identity through playing her dusty family piano, culminating in a Christmas Eve performance where she becomes one with the instrument.

Story·Katie Sinclair, age 13 — Two friends visit an aquarium and walk the pier, where floating red roses on gray ocean water prompt reflection on breaking patterns.

Story·Josh Miller, age 10 — A skilled hunter rejected by her village for not conforming to gender roles discovers a cloud city where women hunt and men weave, then returns home to acceptance.

Poetry·Nicole Guenther, age 13 — At dusk, a writer sits on a cold rock sketching the last light while frogs sing, watching her huge shadow wave across the page as darkness falls.