Stone Soup Magazine

Story·Christopher Fifty and Indra Boving, age 11 — A flock of geese migrating south encounters a storm at sea, observing a skipjack crew struggling below before pushing through to reach land.

Story·Claudia Ross, age 12 — A girl races to catch waves on the last days of summer, gets tumbled by a big swell, then eagerly paddles back out for more.

Story·Alison Buick, age 13 — A young ballet dancer auditions for Odette in Swan Lake, loses to her rival Michelle, but gets to perform when Michelle injures her ankle during opening night.

Poetry·Wujun Ke — A poem traces the transition from pre-dawn silence through the first bird's call to full morning chorus as day breaks.

Poetry·Ryan Sparks, age 12 — A brother witnesses a newborn's first moments of consciousness, watching as the baby's eyes open to light and a world of new experiences.

Book Review·Wendy Mass, Reviewed by Danica Lee — Every Soul a Star, by Wendy Mass; Little, Brown Books for Young Readers: New York, 2008; $15.99 “…the sun will get erased from the sky, the planets will come out...

Story·Adrienne Hohensee, age 10 — Two competitive students challenge each other at chin-ups in a rain-soaked park, pushing past their limits to discover something beyond winning.

Poetry·Mia Ba-Lu Hildebrandt, age 12 — A young girl walking to school becomes enchanted by a brown-and-white tabby cat following her, despite her mother's urgings to hurry along.

Book Review·Chris Roberson, Reviewed by Ryan McManaman — Iron Jaw and Hummingbird, by Chris Roberson; Viking Children’s Books: New York, 2008; $19.99 What if the Chinese had taken over the whole eastern hemisphere when Christopher Columbus left Spain...

Story·Emmy J. X. Wong, age 12 — A twelve-year-old girl struggles with her widowed father's engagement to Jessica, fearing the loss of their special bond, until the wedding ceremony reveals she's being invited into a new family,...