This is a great book for kids who love words! I cling to every new word I hear, so as the main protagonist’s character developed, I saw lots of similarities between us. The story itself is about an intelligent boy named Paul Milliron who lives in Montana in the early 1900’s. His mom has recently passed away leaving his father Oliver struggling to take care of three growing boys, the house, and the farm. After reading a cleverly written newspaper ad, Oliver hires a housekeeper from Minneapolis. Not too long after, in a cloud of mystery, Rose Llewellyn arrives by train with her eccentric, well-educated brother Morris Morgan. And, life on the farm is never quite the same. As the story develops, the plot starts to twist and turn in unexpected but believable ways. When the teacher at the local one-room schoolhouse leaves her post unexpectedly, the school board is left with few options. But, after some convincing, Morris Morgan steps up and is hired to be the new educator. Personally, I enjoy how “Mr. Morgan” brings a quirky, new vitality to the old school, ruffling feathers, inadvertently angering the local bully, and winning over his students along the way. Meanwhile, Rose has created a stir in the small farming community of Marias Coulee and won the hearts of the Milliron family. At times, it’s almost as if the Milliron boys have a mother again, but domestic bliss comes to a screeching halt when Rose lets slip a key piece of her mysterious past. Devastated, it’s up to Paul, the oldest, to choose the best path forward and protect his family. As it turns out, this will require all of his “older brother powers” and intellect. Readers, this book is constantly interesting. Whether the author is telling you about the history and science of a comet, taking you to back in time to 1909, or entertaining you with one of several misadventures, you just can’t stop reading. The characters are truly intriguing, the descriptions make you feel like you’re actually there, and the tale is overall realistic and captivating. Somehow, Ivan Doig, the author, finds a way to throw a backwards horse race, Halley’s comet, a one-room schoolhouse, and a fixed prizefight into one astounding narrative. This is a wonderful, family-friendly work of historical fiction, and I highly recommend it! The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig. Mariner Books, 2007. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Broken America Must Rise
America we are a nation whole, Why let others break us apart from a nation whole to a nation of division. In this truth in this fate, we trust, why break us apart during this terrifying time. Lives lost, families heart broken, how can we let this sudden disaster strike us. Now we should be together more than ever during this terrifying time.We are a raging river that cannot be cut, we are America. We must rise for the right of our people, like our forefathers. We must rise up and speak for those who can’t. We must come back together and fight for what is good for America as a whole, Not just ourselves, We must be the America we are meant to be. We must rise for those we have lost, during this terrifying time, We must rise for our families, we protect all we unite as one nation. We are America because we are together. In this America of which we thrive We must rise and become America.We cannot split like in civil war, we are acting like a small child who did not get it’s way, We must continue as one. This is not a war but democracy. America is not like this so it must come to an end. America we must all rise and start again. We are on opposite sides of a mountain that needs to be moved, One side can’t move a mountain we need both sides, So America come together and fight for each other, Your families, friends, those you have lost. Us storming into a dragons den will only make it mad it won’t change a thing, We have democracy for a reason, to keep America whole. This is how we became America through this wonderful word Democracy, We need to stay together, to rise together, to come together until we are whole once more. We are a forest that needs to grow, not to be cut down with an axe, We need to blossom and thrive in order to be part of a community. If half gets cut down it will only be half a forest, so rise up and fight become whole again let the forest thrive as one forest. We are like rays from a sun we can be covered by clouds, but we will never disappear, We need to banish those clouds to become bright and whole again. We are America we must rise up and become one again. Our kind acts bring us together, our malicious acts bring us apart. We need more kindness to become one. I watch our country’s issues be waved away. We need to accept that they are real and fix them. Help others, We are like little needles in haystacks but many of us can make a change, We can over take the hay, So we need to come together and fight. We America “the land of the free and the home of the brave” So lets fight to keep it that way fight and rise for what is right, America is one. We as Americans may literally inherit the right to be here but, it is not how we get here it is how we change it for the better or the worse. We are America As one.
Weekly Creativity #153: Write About a Life-Changing Event in a Character’s Life
Write about a life-changing event in a character’s life. This could be ordinary, magical, or anywhere in between—just make it something important to your protagonist.
