Stone Soup Magazine

Story·Rachel Tuteur, age 12 — Two teenagers in love remember childhood summers together while facing arranged marriages to others, meeting secretly at night despite their families' plans.

Poetry·Anna Preston, age 12 — A frog on a lily pad becomes a graceful dancer, tensing and leaping through rain to catch her dinner with a flick of her tongue.

Story·Sariel Nana Friedman, age 10 — A girl visits the family's summer cottage while her father is at war, discovering she can feel joy even amid sadness when her brother lifts her over the waves.

Poetry·Rory Lipkis, age 9 — A child walks along a canal towpath, observing nature's beauty alongside human intrusion—from dragonflies and turtles to litter and a dying fish.

Story·Sophie Stid, age 13 — Every Saturday, four-year-old Elsa and her four sisters walk through Boston, collecting bagels, moon cookies, and laundry, until a broken carousel forces them to create their own magic.

Poetry·Pierie Korostoff, age 12 — Kitchen scene where paperwhites by the sink, snow outside, and magnetic poetry on the fridge create a meditation on mismatched elements that somehow belong together.

Story·Lyla Lawless, age 13 — A straight-A student wrongly accuses a shy new girl of stealing her homework, leading to a cafeteria confrontation and a chance at redemption through detention.

Story·Brigid Cami, age 13 — A girl rushes through homework to spend thirty minutes by a lake, feeding ducks and contemplating the vast sky and her future.

Story·Margaret Bryan, age 12 — A cross-country runner experiences the transcendent sensation of flying during a race, moving between competitive awareness and pure physical freedom.

Story·Adanma Raymond, age 12 — A girl anxiously waits by the phone for news of her mother giving birth, then meets her new baby brother Zachary at the hospital.