Stone Soup Magazine
— The Running Dream, by Wendelin Van Draanen; Knopf Books for Young Readers: New York, 2011; $16.99 Have you ever seen a book on the shelf and known it was the...
— A girl moves from Colorado to New York after her mother's death, resisting the change until an elderly landlady helps her see that pain makes love meaningful.
— A boy jealous of his cousin's building projects with their grandfather finally gets his chance when they build a chicken coop together during a summer visit.
— During a violent storm in France, an older brother frightens his adopted younger sibling with tornado tales, then realizes his cruelty and transforms the storm into an adventure game.
— A girl sneaks out for a midnight swim in the pool the night before moving away, finding solace in the underwater light and the stars above.
— A girl discovers a mysterious book that transports her into its pages, where she finds reassurance that her comatose sister will recover.
— A ten-year-old girl struggles to reconnect with her father when he returns from World War II, discovering both his trauma and their shared memories at the chicken coop.
— Two friends lying under an oak tree share funny memories until one asks if the other remembers how their friendship began, triggering a flashback to third grade.
— After her beloved Siamese cat Silver Blue dies in a car accident, a girl rejects a replacement kitten until one cold night when the kitten's comfort helps her accept loss...
— Special thanks to Sheila Crane, who taught in Emil’s school in Rundu, for sending us his work.