Jane Lee, 12 COVID: The Normality Thief Jane Lee, 12 Before Covid, my mom used to yell “Hurry or you’ll miss the bell!” My dad would add, “You’re going to be late!” But then the pandemic changed our fate I miss The rumble of the bus Even though I had to rush I miss having a freshly sharpened pencil As a writing utensil Replaced by the clacking sound of a keyboard on the rebound I used to think preparing for school was a bore Not anymore I miss wearing barrettes ribbons, and bows Replaced with noise canceling Bose Now I’m at home learning in sweats Instead of at school wearing my sweater sets Zoom and Google meets Replace our classroom seats For math, it’s not bad But for orchestra it’s just sad It’s impossible to have a melodic session When it’s interrupted by a laggy connection I miss break time chatting with friends Now I rest alone until brain break ends The teachers try to keep kids active But exercising alone is not attractive Walking to town with a friend Was once a treat until it had to end Gone are the in-person enrichments and clubs like history, book, drama, and journalism with buds I miss the approaching sound of the bus Announcing the end of the day for all of us Now it’s just a click and a thank you Zoom out the day is done— we push through For our future, for all humankind, we have a common wish, A return to our normal life, before Covid turned our world into a petri dish
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Weekly Creativity #128: Write a Graphic Novel Memoir
Create a short memoir about an event in your life. Only, instead of using just words, add illustrations to tell the story. In other words, make it a graphic novel memoir.
Saturday Newsletter: November 21, 2020
“Squash Fest” by Taeyi Kim, 11 (Seoul, South Korea) Published in Stone Soup November 2020 A note from Emma How are you all doing? I have to admit that I am burnt out. I am tired of teaching my students over Zoom, tired of staying six feet away from others, tired of doing everything alone. 2020 has worn me down! I am hopeful that the news of a vaccine is accurate and that we will be able to resume something closer to our pre-pandemic lives soon. Lucy Hurwitz’s short poem in the November issue really captures how I have been feeling most mornings. It reads: Wrong side I wake up on that side of bed. My leg’s my arm, My arm’s my head. I love how Lucy takes a common idiom—”I woke up on the wrong side of the bed!”—and pushes it farther. It’s not just that the speaker woke up “on that side of bed” (the missing “the” is perfectly disorienting) but that she is somehow “wrong” herself: “My leg’s my arm, / My arm’s my head.” At the same time as it perfectly captures this feeling of waking up “off,” it’s also funny! This weekend, I challenge you to write a short poem like Lucy’s that is inspired by an everyday idiom. Here are a few you might consider using: It takes two to tango Let’s go back to the drawing board That’s the last straw I’m pulling your leg I’m bent of shape Time is money Her head is in the clouds And, since this is the last note we’ll write you before the holiday, I hope you all have a happy, delicious, safe Thanksgiving holiday! Until next week, Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at Stonesoup.com! Mahati writes a lyrical farewell to summer, with tons of sensory details. Jessie, 8, reviews Out of My Mind by Shannon M. Draper (which we’ve published reviews of before and also was a Book Club pick!). Read about why Jessie recommends it. Check out the update from our 28th Writing Workshop, which was all about word choice. Pragnya, one of our new Book Reviewers, has another one for us! This time, she reviewed When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, which she says has a “perfect balance between reality and fiction.” Olivia, 10, reviewed The Doughnut King by Jessie Janowitz. She starts the review with this compelling line: “Warning: Once you open The Doughnut King, you’ll be stuck in the story for eternity.” Did you hear who won the Nobel Prizes this year? Mahati gives us a helpful roundup of the winners on the blog, plus some background on the award itself. Lucy Hurwitz, 10Newton, MA From Stone Soup November 2020 Wrong Side By Lucy Hurwitz, 10 (Newton, MA) I wake up on that side of bed. My leg’s my arm, My arm’s my head. . . . /MORE from the November issue 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.
