Select a sentence from your favorite novel. Tear out a page of your notebook or use an empty whiteboard to break down this sentence and find a deeper meaning, or possibly theorize what the author is trying to tell you (otherwise known as the theme). Then, write a story where you use this same theme.
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Exploring Madame Tussauds
Everyone should know that Madame Tussauds is the best museum ever. It’s very popular because it’s in big cities and has creepy wax figures of famous people from history and famous people that are still alive. I know this even though I’ve been dead since 1850. I’ve seen everything and I’m glad that people continued what I started and my work because I’m the person who started Madame Tussauds. My name is Marie Tussaud. I can tell you all about the Madame Tussauds museums because I have seen what’s inside of them as a ghost. It’s a good thing no one believes in ghosts or the paranormal. If they did I would have scared them. I was born in 1761 in France. I was an artist and loved making wax sculptures. In 1777 I created my first wax sculpture of Voltaire. In 1835 I created a permanent exhibit in London which became the first Madame Tussauds museum. This museum has sculptures of famous people from history. The major attraction was a chamber of horrors. I died in 1850 at the age of 89. I got very sick; today you would call it pneumonia. And that’s how I became a ghost. In 1883 they moved my London museum to a bigger space. Although it was damaged by fire and again by German bombs in World War II, that museum still exists today. They didn’t build another museum until 1970. Today there are Madame Tussauds museums in four continents and in 25 locations. There are 10 in Asia, 7 in Europe, 7 in North America, and 1 in Australia. To my surprise, they still make the wax figures the same way I did 200 years . If the person is still alive, they would come in for measurements. Otherwise, pictures are used. The head and body are molded out of clay. Then a plastic cast is created around the clay. Once dry, the cast is cut and the clay is removed. Hot wax is poured into the hollow cast and allowed to dry. After this, the cast is removed and you have a wax figure. Next, it goes to hair and coloring. They use thousands of strands of real human hair inserted one at a time. The skin is painted with oil paint. The entire process takes four to six months to get the wax figures to look like real life. The Washington DC museum has all 45 US presidents. There are also five first ladies: Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Reagan, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Melania Trump. The museum in Hollywood usually focuses on movie stars. These include classics like Judy Garland and Audrey Hepburn all the way up to modern stars. Some examples include Iron Man, Lady Gaga, Zoe Saldana, and Jennifer Lopez. I thought that JLo’s outfit was kind of inappropriate for my tastes. My favorite wax figures are from Ghostbusters: Answer the Call in the New York museum. They have the underground tracks from the New York City subway, the basement of the Aldrige mansion, the lobby of the Mercado Hotel, and the Ghostbusters’ lab. Gertrude Aldridge is a ghost like me. Her painting comes to life and screams. I’m just glad the wax Ghostbusters figures are not real so they can’t suck me into their ghost trap. I’m happy that my name lives on with all the museums around the world. Citations Madame Tussauds Website: https://www.madametussauds.com/ Wikipedia for Marie Tussaud: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Tussaud The making of Adele: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8J8VWzfYbA
A Different Kind of Chapter, some thoughts by Alice Myers, 10
Alice Myers, 10Westmont, QC, Canada A Different Kind of Chapter Alice Myers, 10 Imagine life as a book. A really interesting book. There are those chapters that make you smile, but there are also chapters that make you cry. There are chapters that end on a cliffhanger, and chapters that don’t. While this certain chapter of our book of life isn’t one that makes you smile, you should find comfort in knowing that everyone in the world is reading right along with you. This chapter will end sooner or later, and all these readers are doing their best to skim the pages and get to the end of the chapter, to ensure that it ends sooner. But sometimes there’s nothing you can do but keep reading and hope for the best. In so many books you want to skip to the end. Does your favourite character get back home? Do they survive their thrilling adventure? Many authors do that on purpose. They want their words to be suspenseful, they want you to lie in bed awake, wondering what happens next. Maybe whoever writes our story wants it the same way. Sometimes something tells you not to skip to the end in novels. If you know how it all turns out, the story won’t be as interesting. The author, however, always knows the ending of their novel. They might cut the main character out at the last minute, or everything might go as you predicted. The story might have a happy ending. It might not. Whatever the author does, they do it for a reason. But whatever happens, good or bad, is meant to happen. There’s no way for you to change what’s already printed. Sometimes, all you can do is come along for the ride and cross your fingers. I’ve never liked reading a sad chapter alone. You have no one to lean on. But I’ve never liked reading a happy chapter alone, either. You have no one to share the joy with. No matter what the ending is, no matter how many bumps there are in the road, everyone else is reading. We might have different understandings depending on our age, or our beliefs. But you–and everyone else on the planet–are reading the same words. This chapter will end. And I don’t know about you, but after it does, I’ll still be using Zoom.
