Stone Soup Magazine

Story·Ruby Dietz, age 12 — A girl panics when her younger brother doesn't board the school bus, only to discover he had permission to go to a friend's house instead.

Story·Abby Lustig, age 11 — A girl races along the beach following a dolphin, sprinting through sand and tide pools to keep up with the graceful creature before having to leave for the airport.

Poetry·Matthew Brailsford, age 11 — A child at the beach reaches out to touch the sunset and wraps it around their shoulders like a coat, transforming sensory experience into wearable joy.

Story·Katherine E. All, age 12 — A girl chosen as a dragon sacrifice discovers that her brother's lily hair clip, given as a farewell gift, becomes the weapon that defeats the beast.

Story·Ella Staats, age 11 — A tomboy daughter discovers her mother's insistence on frilly dresses stems from her own deprived childhood, leading to mutual understanding and acceptance.

Poetry·Elizabeth R. Herndon, age 10 — A child lies in cold grass on an autumn night, imagining herself as a falling leaf among bare trees and scattered leaves.

Book Review·Lindsey Levitt, Reviewed by Marcella R. Gerszten — Sean Griswold’s Head, by Lindsey Leavitt; Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers: New York, 2011; $16.99 Her parents lie about her father’s multiple sclerosis (MS), a potentially deadly disease of the...

Story·Billy Liptrot, age 13 — A boy finds solace at a secluded spot by a reservoir, where memories of catching frogs with his brother merge with present sensory details of water, weather, and wildlife.

Story·Grace Manning, age 12 — During a sailing race with a $100 prize, a boy gives up certain victory to help his friend win the money for his dying father's medical care.

Poetry·Ethan Vranic, age 12 — In a dreary autumn meadow between two oaks, once-flourishing roses now lie shriveled and colorless, their sharp thorns the only remnant of former vitality.