Vibrance | Fujifilm XP Astrid Young, 12 (Brookline, MA), published in Stone Soup February 2022 A note from Emma This is the last newsletter I’m going to write for a few months—soon I’ll be on maternity leave with our second child, a boy! Since first becoming a mother not-quite two years ago, I have found myself especially attuned to the way parents, and particularly mothers, are portrayed in the writing I read for Stone Soup. So I was naturally intrigued by the very complex character of “Ma” in Fiona Clare Altschuler’s short story, “A Time to Run.” “A Time to Run” reads like a fairytale: it takes place in some alternate world, one where magic exists and there’s a city called “Izak,” but, unlike in sci-fi or fantasy–which work hard to “build” worlds–the world is not the focus of this story–it is simply matter of factly presented. As it would be in a fairytale. Hans loves his Ma, but he becomes aware of a darkness in her–she is angry at her brother, and vindictive, and though he loves her, he fears what she will do to his uncle. So, he helps his uncle run away, running away from his own mother to do so. I don’t want to spoil the ending, but I love that this story avoids falling into the black-and-white morality we often see in fairy tales: this character, this character is bad. Instead, each character, Ma included, is allowed to feel full, complicated, conflicted. Following Fiona’s lead, try to write your own fairy tale this weekend or this month, but with real, complex, human characters. Lastly, before I sign off, I want to also share that we have been feverishly preparing for a big relaunch and marketing push to schools: the way we can make Stone Soup sustainable again is by getting back in the schools, as schools never “age” out of us. If you are a parent of a middle schooler, or a middle school teacher yourself, please consider discussing a Stone Soup subscription with your school. Until later this year – Fiona Clare Altschuler, 11 Parkton, MD From Stone Soup February 2022 A Time to Run By Fiona Clare Altschuler, 11 (Parkton, MD) I was five years old when it happened, but I remember it well. I wish I could forget it, but that is not to be. The story begins before I was born, when my ma was a girl. My ma had a brother, Ferdinand, who one day disappeared. Then my ma’s parents died and my ma married my da and had me, Hans. I was like any boy, except that I had magic. One day when I was playing, a clear image of a man flashed through my head, hovered a moment, and flew away, leaving me wobbly and light-headed. I ran inside the cottage, calling. My ma looked up from her knitting. Her dark eyes softened. “My uncle’s at the gate. He’s wondering if his sister Thea is alive!” As always with the magic, the words tumbled out without me knowing what they meant. My ma blanched. “Find your uncle, and bring him here.” “Yes, Ma,” I said, turning, and dashed to the gate where our land ended, my sandals sinking into the sand, my tunic swishing around my legs. There I saw a man, cheeks hollow. I trotted up and said, “You’re Uncle Ferdinand—Ma’s brother?” He reeled back. “You are Thea’s son?” he whispered. “Yes.” I said. “I’m Hans.” Continue reading here… Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498. Stone Soup’s advisors: Abby Austin, Mike Axelrod, Annabelle Baird, Jem Burch, Evelyn Chen, Juliet Fraser, Zoe Hall, Montanna Harling, Alicia & Joe Havilland, Lara Katz, Rebecca Kilroy, Christine Leishman, Julie Minnis, Jessica Opolko, Tara Prakash, Denise Prata, Logan Roberts, Emily Tarco, Rebecca Ramos Velasquez, Susan Wilky.
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Writing Workshop #56: Vignettes
An update from our fifty-sixth Writing Workshop A summary of the workshop held on Saturday, January 22nd, plus some of the output published below William introduced the workshop participants to the concept of vignettes—a short, descriptive piece of writing that typically describes a character or a scene. Beginning with the concept of vignette photographs, William then went on to give the class examples of poetic vignettes. The class went over poems by Basho, a description from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and a passage by Willa Cather from her novel My Antonia. The Challenge: Write a focused description of a place, person, or scene. The Participants: Ananya, Lena, Liam, Lauren, Yueling, Kate, Alexandra, Peri, Agatha, Anya, Elbert, Rachael, Iago, Shonali, Hani To watch the students’ readings from the class, click here. Peri Gordon, 11Sherman Oaks, CA The Nighttime City Peri Gordon, 12 The streets are nocturnal. The nighttime city stretches on through space and time. The skyscrapers don’t scrape the sky, they illuminate it with dancing lights that only come out when all else is dark. The streams of vehicles flow under the swirling haze of the atmosphere, both unending. The buildings are drenched in colorful blackness, as the car engines sing a lullaby and the world is locked into a dream. Window pane after window pane is encased in frost, street after street is decked with cars. Time is frozen like the windows, time is never-ending like the line of cars, time is completely irrelevant. A second goes by in an hour, an hour goes by in a second as slumber sweeps the clocks into a dreamlike state and time goes wild by doing nothing at all. It’s been midnight for hours.
How to Live the Life You Dream of Living, a motivational piece by Sabrina, 13
Sabrina Lu, 13 (Ashburn, VA) How to Live the Life You Dream of Living Sabrina Lu, 13 If you would like to live the life you dream of living, please follow the steps below as a guide. However, there are no right or wrong steps in living the life you desire. It is all about you. This list is simply a reference. Be yourself. It’s that simple and that hard. No one knows who you aren’t. No one knows who you are. Only you do. You can be anyone in the world or be yourself. Remember that there is only one of you and nearly eight billion others. Look at the mirror with confidence. Believe you can, and you’ve done the most challenging part of believing that you can and you will. Your journey may not be exactly as you imagine it, but it will be a great accomplishment to take pride in. Look up to others and yourself. You are one of the most extraordinary people on Earth. You have so much potential and can soar so high. You can inspire future generations and change the world for the better. Take care of yourself. Much like a good book, you need to be cared for. It’s perfectly alright to rest still for days at a time. Don’t forget to dust yourself. Let go of past grudges and think ahead to all the great wonders the future has to offer. The longer you hold on to something, the more tiring it will be to hold on to it. Find the little things that bring you joy. Sometimes it is the smallest things that make all the difference. One genetic mutation can create an entirely new species. One microscopic particle can evolve into a life-changing remedy. There are no limits to this list. If you imagine it, the list is endless. The opportunities are endless. You are limitless. You are empowered. Repeat the following steps above as often as you wish, and if you want to see how far you can stretch your wings, try creating your own list and refer to it often. It will always be there for you. No matter how tough life may seem, if you stick with it, you can’t go wrong. Even in the emptiest and darkest of places, there is always light. You just have to find it.
