An update from our seventh Stone Soup Book Club meeting! This week, during our 7th meeting of the Stone Soup Book Club, we were very lucky to have Adam Gidwitz, the author of The Inquisitor’s Tale come and join our discussion for a little while! We had the exciting opportunity to ask Mr. Gidwitz questions about his book, and about writing overall. We listened as he explained how he came up with the characters of Jeanne, William, and Jacob, as well as how all of the events of the story came together. We found out how Mr. Gidwitz settled on his unique style of narration in his book, what inspired him to tackle all of the subjects that he did, and we learned about the perseverance that all authors have. Our conversation was very thoughtful and meaningful, and it was a great experience all around! We did not have much time left after our discussion with Mr. Gidwitz, but we used our remaining time to talk about the ending of Out of My Mind, by Sharon M. Draper, the book that we had been reading over the past week. In a similar fashion to Gidwitz’s The Inquisitor’s Tale, Out of My Mind talks about differences in people and about overcoming adversity in your path. It was very cool to see what connections people drew between the two stories! Finally, we chose our next book, and the book that we will read after that one! Participants: Anya, Djin, Georgia, Lena, Chloe, Joanna, Katie, Enni, Lucy, Abhi, Isabel, Chloe C., Rachel, Madeline, Kaya, Allegra, Penelope, Sophia, Ariana Our Next Book (6/3, 6/10): Lord of the Flies, by William Golding Our Second-Next Book (6/17, 6/24): The List, by Patricia Forde The Stone Soup Book Club is open to all Stone Soup contributors and subscribers, age 9-13, during the COVID-19-related school closures and shelter-in-place arrangements. We meet every Wednesday for one hour via Zoom to discuss our chosen book, and always welcome new members! Join us!
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Earning Neville, by Fareedha, 12
From the time I was a little kid, I had a horrible case of pet wanting. I liked all types of animals, and I wanted to be a veterinarian when I grew up. I read Eyewitness books about birds and horses. I asked for a dog or a pair of mice. The thing was, no matter how many times I asked, my parents would not agree to let me have any type of pet. Even though I obsessed over all sorts of animals, I didn’t expect to get a pet. So it was a big surprise when my parents pulled into the Petco parking lot for the first time ever. My brother and sister and I were so excited! We practically bounced into the store. My Dad explained we were there to get one Siamese Fighting Fish, because they were good first pets and my parents wanted to see if we were responsible enough to care for a pet. We chose a handsome royal blue Betta Fish and got busy setting up the tank, decorating the inside with a few plastic plants and laying down fun, multi-colored pebbles. It was very fun in the first couple weeks, caring for my new fish, who we had named Bubbles. I’m a bit ashamed to admit I started lazing around caring for him less and less. I didn’t think it mattered. ‘Its ok if he misses a little food this morning’ or ‘He can go one more day without his gravel being changed’. It was subtle and didn’t seem to affect Bubbles, but my parents noticed my lack of responsibility, and they were not happy about it. Bubbles happily puttered around his tank for almost two years before peacefully passing away at the ripe old age of 3 years. Even though it turned out Betta Fish were only expected to live 2-4 years, I still felt bad for neglecting to care for him properly. Maybe if I had worked harder, he would have lived longer. I hadn’t done a good job of proving to my parents I was responsible, and I probably had hurt my chances of getting another pet. I started to come up with a plan to show my parents that I was capable of taking care of bigger pets. First I had to research the best type of pet for our family. Dogs? We are Muslim, and dogs are not considered clean enough to be kept indoors in Islam, so not a dog. Mice, Hamsters, Guinea Pigs or Birds? Their cages tended to smell bad, and birds make lots of noise. Rats? They are smart and clean, but there was no way my mom would let me keep a rat. Cats? Cats might actually work. Apparently, the Holy Prophetsa had kept cats in his mosques, so they were definitely clean. They were easy to care for. The only problem was my Mom and Brother were all allergic to cats. And I really didn’t want a hairless cat! After looking at all the pet possibilities, I ended up keeping the cat idea. I learned cat fur itself isn’t what gives you allergies. It’s a protein in the cat’s spit that makes you irritated. When a cat licks himself while grooming and then sheds his fur, the stuff irritates your eyes and nose, and in extreme cases, even your skin. Thankfully, my family’s allergies were not bad at all. Then I started looking for hypoallergenic cats. There were Maine Coons, Bengal Cats, Russian Blues, Cornish Rex, Siamese, Javanese, and Balinese. All of them were bred to have less of the irritating protein in their saliva, and not a single one was hairless! The next step was to create an expense list to review with my parents. It would have to include all of the supplies necessary for owning a cat and what the vet trips would cost. I did a little research and then got to work. Whenever I got a chance over the weekends of 4th grade to work on the list, I added more information to it. I also talked to my parents about why getting a cat might be good for our family. Their presence created a more warm and calming atmosphere. It was scientifically proven that petting a cat could lower blood pressure. Having a cat would make us kids more responsible, and it would be fun to have around. When my Mom said a cat would claw at furniture, I told her how if you get a cat when it’s still young, it can be taught not to mess with furniture or curtains. If your cat did develop those bad habits, you could also glue plastic caps onto a cat’s claws to keep them from doing damage or trim their nails with the help of a vet. After I successfully presented my work, my parents seemed impressed and were happy that I had put all of that research together. I even wrote a persuasive essay in 4th grade to convince my parents further that cats were great pets. I was very determined! This went on for a little bit, but after a while I started focusing less on my goal of earning a cat and more on the upcoming school year. I still occasionally brought the subject up with my parents, but as the 5th grade started, there was no cat. It wasn’t until early July when my Dad casually asked on the way to my brother’s baseball game what we would name a cat if we got one. We were very interested in Harry Potter at the time, so it was no surprise when we came up with names like Severus Snape, Dumpurrrrdore, and Rufus Scrimgeour. One Wednesday evening, my Dad came in holding some boxes and set them all down in the living room. My brother and sister were eating dinner and I was finishing up my homework. My mom greeted my dad as she always did, and us kids just went about our
Weekly Writing Workshop #8, Friday May 22, 2020: Stream of Consciousness
An update from our eighth Weekly Writing Workshop! A summary of the workshop, plus some of the output published below The Stone Soup Weekly Writing Workshop is open to all Stone Soup contributors and subscribers during the COVID-19-related school closures and shelter-in-place arrangements. Every Friday, we meet for an hour and a half via Zoom to respond to a new writing challenge, write together in our virtual room, and then share what we have written with one another. At our session on Friday May 22, William Rubel, Stone Soup’s founder, talked to the group about Stream of Consciousness, sharing pieces of writing from writers well-known for practicing stream of consciousness (such as James Joyce and Virginia Woolf), some abstract art, and a short clip from a surrealist stream of consciousness film (with a lot of eyeballs!). The group talked about the challenge of really letting go when writing, and then agreed to give it a try… The Writing Challenge: Write a stream of consciousness. The Participants: Ever, Emily, Analise, Liam, Kanav, Peri, Suman, Djin, Ma’ayan, Anya, Lucy, Georgia, Tristan, Gracie, Lauren, Sophia, Allegra, Arianna, Aviya, Michela, Maddie, Silas, Justin, Vishnu, Lewis, Kendyll, Chloe, Gina, Abhi, Laila, Ethan, Shai and more! As usual, our participants took to the challenge with gusto, and wrote some extraordinary, accomplished pieces, some of which you can read below. Anya Geist, 13Worcester, MA Across the Field Anya Geist, 13 There’s a field in front of me. They tell me I have to cross it to get to the other side but I can see bees in between the grasses. I’ve been bitten by a bee before and yesterday a hornet was banging into the wall of our little house. Murder hornets. Do they really kill you? The sun is really bright today. By the time I go anywhere my back is going to be drenched in sweat. I don’t mind sweat so much, especially in the summer when it’s mingled with sunscreen and it seems so seasonal just like Christmas trees and snow in the winter. It’s been a long time since I saw snow I think. Maybe a few years ago when we were back in the North Country. Oh, Gus. There was a time my friends and I sledded down a hill there and nearly crashed into a river like in those Calvin and Hobbes comics. I wonder if there will be Calvin and Hobbes on the other side of the field. I have five books of Calvin and Hobbes. On page 16 of The Indispensable is the one where his dad makes him take a portrait photo. I know so many pages of those books. I think page 220 has something, or maybe 221. And then in the There’s Treasure Everywhere -or maybe The Authoritative (no that’s the one with the antelope)- is the strip of Calvin walking down the staircase. That strip used to hang in the kitchen in the North Country. Oh, Gus. Hardly anyone is like that in the South Country. What will people be like on the other side of the field? They told me I had to cross it if I wanted to see them again. Do I want to see them again? There was a time that they nearly broke our radio because they threw it against the refrigerator. And then the time at the lake with the radio. It’s still fine, though, or it was. Probably in some junkyard in North Country -oh, Gus- now. And then the fridge. That was always a little broken after the incident. Before, I could get ice out of it, but after, it just leaked. A real pain on hot days like this. The grass would always shrivel up and die. The grass here isn’t dead, though, it’s green. Flashing with dew, like pieces of ice. Oh, the ice rink… I wonder if there’s ice on the other side of the field. No, it’d probably get all melted if the sun is like this all the time. Will there be beaches, then? Because I still don’t know if I want to cross the field. Beaches could make it worth it, though. I remember when I was little and we went to beaches in the summer. I would ride my bike -ugh, the gears always cut me- and then try to ride on the sand, but my bike would get stuck. I hate when sand gets stuck in your sandwich, and then you feel all disgusting and grainy. And in the water, when you accidently swallow. I hate the salt. And, it means that sharks can live in the water. I’ve never seen a shark -except at the aquarium (oh, remember when Johnny fell into the penguins habitat)- but I’ve read books and watched movies -not Jaws, but that was mentioned in one of my favorite books. I love fantasy, honestly. And everything to do with mythology. But what were they thinking to send Percy, who’s 12, across the country by himself? Harry Potter makes more sense that way. Still, both series are good. If only magic was real… Will it be real across the field? Only one way to find out, I guess. But wait. I’m not going to rush into this without thinking. Binoculars. I used binoculars at baseball games and once at a play. They’re weird, binoculars. Like a camera but not. Over the field, I can see some mountains in the distance. They’re all faded like, and really tall. Mount Olympus? At any rate, I’m not going to climb a mountain just to see them again. Not like the people in The Sound of Music. Oh, that movie is so good. I probably know every word, to the dialogue and the songs. Fredrick looks really weird with his hair slicked back, though. And the Baroness. Ugh. I know all the words to The Princess Bride, too. That one sounds like music, as musical as The Sound of Music. It’s like a lullaby. The Cliffs of Insanity!
