Stone Soup Magazine

Story·Christina Suh, age 12 — A privileged Southern girl discovers her family's enslaved girl Susan attempting to escape and, after hearing Susan's story, helps her flee north to freedom.

Book Review·Lynda Mullaly Hunt, Reviewed by Catherine Chung — One for the Murphys, by Lynda Mullaly Hunt; Nancy Paulsen Books: New York, 2012; $16.99 Growing up browsing through Salvation Army bins and snoozing in the basement, twelve-year-old Carley Connors...

Story·Will Stroud — A young hunter describes his first archery kill, from the three-hour wait in a tree stand to the moment the deer falls, rendered in precise sensory detail.

Story·Niya Wodi, age 12 — A reluctant teen assigned to volunteer at a nursing home bonds with Mrs. Blair, a former Broadway star, discovering the value of intergenerational connection.

Story·Sonja Skye Wooley, age 12 — Two young scientists searching for Atlantis in the Pacific get caught in a storm, crash on an uncharted island, and discover the lost city underwater just offshore.

Story·Annabel M. Smith, age 11 — A girl meets a stranger in a McDonald's parking lot who shows her a photo of his deceased dog that looks exactly like hers, creating an unexpected moment of connection.

Story·Benjamin Mollborn, age 12 — A Native American boy witnesses his father's murder by settlers and is captured, then helped to escape by the warden's son who recognizes the injustice.

Story·Devon Davila, age 11 — A girl frozen with fear on the high dive gets pushed by her best friend, then finds comfort with a new friend who shares her own story of loneliness.

Story·Hannah Awbrey, age 12 — A boy meets a strange girl on the beach who believes her mother is a mermaid and nearly leads him to his death trying to join her, but saves him...

Story·Hannah Mayerfield, age 10 — A reincarnated blue jay, now human, returns to a fountain where they once drank as a bird, mourning lost flight until moonlight brings new hope.