On an April morning, my sister Cici and I went to the Concord library to check out some animal books. I walked in with an excited mood. While I flipped through George Orwell’s section, a book from the top layer of the shelf fell on top. Of me. That scared me a little. I stared at it for a moment and read The Dog Who Lost His Bark. Eoin Colfer? I never knew anything about this author. Why is it in this section anyway? Quickly, I skimmed through the back of the book. Hmm… That’s kind of cool. Hey, I might actually like this book! Wondering very thoughtfully, I grabbed it. Back to my home I went with my seven books about animals. The first book I plunged into was The Dog Who Lost His Bark. Two days later, I finally finished it. It was about a little puppy named Dog who got sent to a dreadful family. They were really mean to him and when Dog barked, he was given no food. One day, Dog did something he shouldn’t do and the man was so angry that he threw Dog out of the house! Poor little puppy! But somehow, he got sent to a pet store. Then, a little boy named Patrick went to that same pet store with his granddad to buy a little puppy. Patrick looked around. He stopped wondering when he saw Dog. So he bought him home. He even gave Dog a new name – Oz. But when he tried to feed him, he just whined a little and jumped to the corner of his crate. Patrick tried so many times and it doesn’t work. Oz was now so scared of humans that he didn’t even trust good people; like Patrick. But Patrick didn’t give up. He tried again and again. Reading this made me think how important it is to not give up and to keep trying. It reminded me of a time when I had to persevere like Patrick. For example, when I was little, I struggled with math. I just got that word problem wrong every time, but I just kept trying. I didn’t give up at all, but did find some help. Finally, I got it correct the sixth time I did it. So, what do you think happened at the end of The Dog Who Lost His Bark? When I finished it, I felt like it was the best book in the whole world! It was so good! I think you should read it because it can make you feel how important trust and love is. The Dog Who Lost His Bark by Eoin Colfer. Candlewick Press, 2019. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Mama’s Mask, a COVID-19 story inspired by Renoir’s Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette, by Michela You, 11
Michela You, 11Lexington, MA Mama’s Mask Michela You, 11 I was only five years old when the coronavirus started. I am now 18 and thinking back about it, thinking about Mama and the day I had tested positive. I look at my bulletin board to see the mask she made for me. Piece by piece my story unfolds. 13 years ago–– I woke up coughing so hard that it woke my parents up to come to check on me. Mama rushed to my room, touched my forehead, and suddenly, her friendly face was full of fear and grief. She rushed to Papa and they start talking in a rush. The only words I caught were fever, mask, urgently. My mind was in a blur. If I have a fever, does that mean I have the coronavirus? Mama walks into the room. “Ruby, honey, you need a doctor urgently. You have a fever, but don’t worry. We’ll try to calm it down. We will try to get a mask for you and some medicine.” I started to tear up. “Mama, will I die?” Mama shook her head. “All you need to worry about right now is getting some sleep so that you will recover faster. I will make some oatmeal for your breakfast. Stay in bed and try to relax, honey.” She walked out of the room, obviously bothered by something, and closed the door behind her. I tried to breathe. Was my breath getting slower and shallower, or was I imagining it? I tried not to panic, but I did, so I called for Papa. He rushed into the room at the sound of my voice and sat on my bed. Well, I should say 6 feet away from me on the bed. Is he afraid that I have the coronavirus? I told him to get Mama, and he bolted out of the room. Mama came in again and set my breakfast and medicine on my bed. She fed me without a word. Is she afraid of me too? She’s sitting right next to me though. Even touching my hand. I tried to push the evil thoughts out of my head, and I said to Mama, “Is Papa afraid of me?” Mama looked at me if I were insane. When I told her what happened, she vowed to me that she would speak to Papa about this. Mama asked me if I wanted some cookies or a snack, and most certainly, I said yes. She smiled at me. “That hungry brain of my little girl is still the same!” I laughed. “Thanks, Mama. I want some fruit snacks and potato chips please!” She nodded and walked out the door. I breathed a sigh of relief. She still cares about me! Before long, my mom took me to the only doctor: the doctor at the fair. There were thousands of people at the fair. In fact, there were so many that I could barely run!! People were buying things, drinking tea, and kids were playing happily. My eyes caught so many friends! Charlotte, Rebecca. Mama had told me not to go near anyone for some strange reason. How am I supposed to go near the doctor if I’m not supposed to go near anyone? I thought. When we came to Dr. Stone’s cabin, he was in a strange uniform and in his lab were thousands of . . . masks? I looked at Mama. She was calm. She had no intention of grabbing one and running away with me. Dr. Stone was checking the inside of my slick mouth. Then he suddenly stopped. His eyes were wide with fear. He ran to the sink, washed his hands, and handed Mama a mask. He whispered something to her, and Mama started to break down in tears. Seeing her cry brought tears to my eyes. I reached towards Mama, but the doctor stepped between us. I then realized that the small hut was filled with nurses and doctors trying to help. “The ambulance will be here soon, hold on. In the meantime, don’t touch anyone.” He whispered to me. I cried and cried. Mama was fighting her way through the nurses to get to me. Ten nurses were trying to grab her, telling her that I was going to be okay, but she screamed and pushed and yelled that I was her little girl. Then, the wailing of sirens began to grow, and I howled and tried to escape, but a nurse was strapping me on some bed with wheels. People in green-blue uniforms came and rolled the wheeled bed up to the ambulance. “NO!” I screamed. “MAMA! HELP ME! MAMA!” I thrashed around wildly, but the nurses and doctors were like lions, not stopping until they had what they wanted. Mama cried and screamed. “HONEY! NO! STOP!” I could only see her terrified eyes when the ambulance’s doors closed. I was choking on tears when one of the nurses put an oxygen mask on my face. “Just try to breathe,” she said serenely. Her kind eyes were so like Mama I had to choke back some sobs. I suddenly felt more sleepy than ever, so I closed my eyes and darkness rushed upon me. When I woke up, I was in a white room labeled, CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL. I looked around. Nobody was with me. I looked to my left and saw a button that said: When the patient wakes up, press this button. I obediently pushed the button. Five seconds later, six nurses and four doctors ran into the room. One of the nurses ran towards me and I realized that she wasn’t a nurse. She was only wearing a protective suit and a mask, but with no belts like all the other nurses have. It was Mama! I screamed in joy. Mama ran to my bed and hugged me. One of the nurses spoke up. “She can hug you now because she has a mask and a protective suit. We wanted to let you know that you have tested positive with a tiny case of the coronavirus. We are doing our best, and you should be good enough to go home in a week.” Behind Mama, I saw nine of my friends also in protective suits and masks. They ran to me, with presents
Book Club Report: Harbor Me, by Jacqueline Woodson
An update from our fourteenth and fifteenth Book Club meetings! Over the past two weeks, the Stone Soup Book Club has been reading Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson. The story is about six children in Brooklyn, NY, who end up talking to each other in the old art room without any adult supervision (they end up calling the room the “ARTT Room” (A Room to Talk)). The kids–Haley, Holly, Estaban, Amari, Tiago, and Ashton–become friends as the year goes on, and they share their problems with one another, helping each other through all of their issues. In our first week of discussion, we focused on themes and characters. We discussed how we found the characters to be relatable, and how the interactions between the characters seemed very real, as well as talking about major themes–such as immigration, bullying, racism, incarceration, friendship, and family–and what roles they play in the book, as well as how they affect the lives and actions of the characters. Next, we talked about what it means to be a harbor to someone, as is suggested by the title of the book. We also shared experiences of either harboring someone, or being harbored by someone, and how meaningful both of those were. In our second week of discussions (our fifteenth week of Book Club!) we started out with a very fun activity! We split the group up into breakout rooms of two or three, and let each group be its own ARTT room. The participants talked about whatever they wanted, and were not required to report what they discussed. Reflecting on their experience, it seemed that most people thought it was fun to talk to people they didn’t really know, and find out what interests they held in common. It seems that the Book Club participants would be interested in participating in more ARTT rooms! Next, we discussed the end of the book; overall, we all agreed that it was very ambiguous. This led to a brief conversation where we discussed if there was a sequel, what we would want it to be about. Most people agreed that they would want a sort of reunion between the characters. Other ideas included: the characters must save the ARTT room from being destroyed, or even having an entirely different set of characters who bond in the room. Finally, we chose our new book, which is listed below! IMPORTANT: Book Club is taking a week off, and will not meet on Wednesday, July 29. We will resume Book Club on August 5. Keep reading in the meantime! The Stone Soup Book Club is open to all Stone Soup contributors and subscribers, age 9-13. We meet every Wednesday at 1pm PST (4pm EST) for one hour via Zoom to discuss our chosen book. Join us! Our Next Book (August 5 & August 12): Paint the Wind by Pam Muñoz Ryan
