An update from our twenty-eighth Book Club meeting! On June 26, the Stone Soup Book Club met for its last meeting in this session. We discussed The Jumbies, by Tracey Baptiste, a book about Caribbean folklore and a girl named Corinne who must save her home from the evil jumbies. After our usual ARTT rooms, where our participants were given the prompt of talking about what books they planned to read over the summer, we had a whole group discussion about The Jumbies. Our conversation ranged from our favorite characters, to the complexities and nuances of the book’s villain, Severine, to the setting described by the author, and to themes within the story: such as family and bravery. Next, we brainstormed to think about what other fairy tales we know—and what cultures they are from. We compared various myths/stories, including those from Europe and China, and analyzed their similarities, differences, and how they connected to The Jumbies. Overall, we decided that most fairy tales have some sort of lesson—about wit, bravery, moderation, or family, for example— and many of them include supernatural or nonhuman elements; but they also vary in some ways. Some stories are about princesses and princes, while others are just about regular people. In some stories, the main character needs saving, and in others, it is the protagonist who is doing the saving. With all of this in mind, we set out to write our own fairy tales—about ourselves. Our participants were given the prompt of writing about something that happens to them in the summer, but with a fairytale twist of their choice. We shared out our stories and ideas in breakout rooms; they ranged from ones about mysterious forests, to characters who read a fairy tale—and then get sucked into it. It was really fun to hear what everyone thought of! Our final activity was more relaxed. Everyone went into breakout rooms for a few minutes just to talk about what books they liked, and then we switched the rooms around a few times. By the end, most people were able to find someone who liked the same book as them! Because Book Club will not be running over the summer, we did not choose a new book; a new book will be decided on in the fall. Stay tuned for information about our fall classes of Workshops and Book Club over the summer!
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Saturday Newsletter: June 26, 2021
“Wooden Sunset” (iPhone 11) By Amelia Driver, 10 (Woodacre, CA) and published in the July/August 2021 Issue of Stone Soup A note from Malakai Now that we’re a week into summer (if you go by the summer solstice, of course), it’s really starting to feel like a nice summer day: slow, breezy, probably hot. To fully encapsulate that summer feeling, I wanted to highlight a photo from our July/August issue. Wooden Sunset by Amelia Driver gives off that warm golden-hour glow that I just can’t get enough of. Summer sunsets are my favorite to photograph. Here’s a fun photo challenge: try to use Amelia’s picture as inspiration to capture a sunset within the reflection of another object. Tag us on Instagram @stonesoupbykids and I’ll share your photos! Spring/Summer 2021 Writing Workshop Reading For our Spring/Summer session of 2021, we are holding a public reading, where our workshop members will give author readings. They have chosen their favorite work, written during one of the year’s Workshops. Come join us to hear this fantastic writing, read aloud in the authors’ own voices. We are so proud of all of their work. Don’t miss it! A little about myself Since this is my first newsletter as the engagement editor for Stone Soup, I wanted to introduce myself. I’m a Santa Cruz local and grew up hearing about Stone Soup; when I tell folks I work here they usually say, “Oh yeah, I know Stone Soup!” I have a degree in journalism from San Francisco State University, where I specialized in editing, podcasting, magazine design, and documentary video production. I’m here to grow our social media and promote the magazine, books, classes, and special projects. I like to spend my free time in the garden with my mom, working on sewing projects, and playing D&D. Book Contest I’ve been working on promoting our book contest, which is currently open and runs until August 16. Here is the basic rundown: Genre: Fiction (novel, novella, short story collection) or poetry Length: For fiction submissions, the minimum length is 20,000 words. For poetry submissions, the minimum length is 40 pages. There is no maximum word or page limit. Age limit: For this contest, we will accept manuscripts written by those age 14 or under. Deadline: Monday, August 16, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. (Pacific Time) Entry fee: $15.00 And you can find more info here. Preorder The Other Realm In the July/August issue you’ll see an excerpt from a soon-to-be-published novel: The Other Realm by Tristan Hui. The book will be available starting September 1, but you can preorder it now! As put by Tristan herself, “The Other Realm is an adventure story. It combines elements of portal and urban fantasy to pull readers into the world of two endearingly late-blooming teenage girls, who are struggling across a desert in a car they aren’t sure how to drive.” You can pre-order Tristan’s novel here. Also a reminder to check out the Refugee Project; the art, writing, poetry, and photography are truly phenomenal. Till next time, Book Contest 2021 For information on submitting to the Stone Soup Book Contest 2021, please click here. To submit your manuscript, please visit our submittable site. Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at Stonesoup.com! Cleo takes us through the process of making chocolate in her post that details her experience on vacation in Belize. Read about it here. On the COVID-19 blog, we published a contemplative poem by Otis, 13, inspired by his frequent trips to the park near his house. Also on the COVID-19 blog, Mason reflects on parts of American history and concludes that “one day we will take our steps out of COVID-19.” Summer Classes and Events! Our weekly weekend writing workshops and book club are on a summer break after today, but we’ll be back in the Fall Meanwhile, to get a flavour of the kind of writing our students have been doing this semester, why not join us at their public reading on July 3rd? It’s free to attend, and you’ll hear some great writing in the authors own voice! Young Author’s Studio Summer Camps: we are offering a wide range of classes through the summer jointly with the Society of Young Inklings. Each camp runs for two hours per day, Monday through Thursday. All details and bookings via Society of Young Inklings. From Stone Soup July/August 2021 Get Myself a Rocking Chair By Nora Heiskell, 12 (Philadelphia, PA) Illustrated by Amelia Driver, 10 (Woodacre, CA) Chapter One Lord I been hangin’ out of town in that low-down rain Watchin’ good-time Charlie, friend, is drivin’ me insane Down on shady Charlotte Street, the green lights look red Wish I was back home on the farm, in my feather bed The soft music of the guitar floated through the still air. Smoke from a chimney could be seen above the rooftops of town. Peter McCumber was an odd man. He spoke to no one, but he sang and played his guitar as if he was all alone in his own world. Nobody could remember the last time Peter McCumber had gone to church, let alone to visit somebody. The townspeople all kept their distance, as if he were ill or crazy or something. My father was the only person that would speak to him. I was interested in the old man; there were not many elderly people in Emerald Hills, where we lived. The only other one was Mrs. Gaffney, the milliner. But, like everyone else, I kept my distance. Our town, Emerald Hills, consisted of two neighborhoods. I lived at the very edge of the smaller neighborhood, closer to the part of town where all the shops were. My house was a tiny one-story cottage with whitewashed boards and sky-blue trim around the windows. I lived with my father and our cook, Helen. My mother died when I was only four, and I hardly remembered her. Helen came shortly after Mother died, and she had raised
Shadow, a reflection by Mason, 8
Mason Li, 8 A shadow is behind each step I take. When you see your shadow, it means you’re in darkness. When you don’t, it means you’re in light. America before was in darkness. But America is taking steps out of darkness and into light. Right now, America is in pain. Look at before slavery – a man named Marin Luther King Jr. He saw his shadow and took steps higher and higher to peace. All soldiers saw their shadows and took steps to braveness. Now America is in the shadow of Covid-19, but it won’t be covered for long because we’re taking steps out like before. We see glimpses of lightness each day. Everyday one glimpse to two to three to four and higher. That means that we’re climbing, too, like before the inventions of technology, but it’s health not engineering. One day we will take our steps out of Covid-19.
