Stone Soup Magazine

Story·Katharine Keller, age 13 — A city girl sent to her grandparents' desert homestead for summer discovers unexpected beauty in the harsh landscape and finds her artistic calling.

Story·Emma T. Capps, age 12 — A girl discovers her late grandfather's unfinished charcoal drawing of a court jester and secretly completes it in watercolor, connecting with him through art across time.

Story·Anna J. Mickle, age 12 — A girl finds comfort in Green Lake, moving from cliff to water to cabin, observing nature's details and remembering boat rides with her brother.

Story·Emi Cohen, age 10 — A young writer struggles with creative block, trying every genre and filling candy wrappers with unfinished stories, until she discovers the solution is to write about her own experience.

Story·Tiffanie Goh — A five-year-old helps prepare instant noodles at her aunt's apartment, finding magic in the simple ritual of breaking noodles and sharing the moment with her younger brother.

Poetry·Olivia Smit, age 12 — A red fox crosses dewy ground at dawn, joined by his mate and kits who play in wet grass before vanishing, leaving only footprints as proof.

Book Review·Jason Cockcroft, Reviewed by Hayden Rasberry — Counter Clockwise, by Jason Cockcroft; Katherine Tegen Books: New York, 2009; $15.99 Have you ever read a book that has changed the way you look at your life? A book...

Story·Julia Condon, age 13 — A middle schooler abandons her best friend for popularity, falls for a cruel prank at a party, and discovers where she truly belongs.

Story·Lulu Russell, age 11 — A sparrow flees a hunting hawk through forest branches in a desperate chase, then the perspective shifts to reveal the hawk's necessity of feeding its young.

Poetry·Zoe Phillips, age 11 — A child walks through absolute darkness and snow until spotting a cottage light that transforms the cold journey into a homecoming.