“Cloud Dancer” by Sage Millen, 12 (Vancouver, Canada) Published in the May 2020 Issue of Stone Soup A note from Sarah First of all, a special announcement: summer camps! Check out the website for our summer camp collaboration with the Society of Young Inklings. Right now we have three camps available that we’ll conduct via Zoom, but we’re working on bringing you more! We hope you’ll get creative with us this summer. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy during social distancing? I’ve found that in my spare time, I’ve been reading and cooking more than usual and have recently started a small garden. I hope you have also found some enjoyable hobbies to occupy yourself during this time. If you’d like to share what you’ve been doing, consider submitting a piece to our blog. I really liked the prompt for this week’s Flash Contest, from Stone Soup contributor Molly Torinus, which is what got me thinking about hobbies in the first place. Molly asked you to think of your favorite superhero (or supervillain!) and imagine what they do in their down time. I can’t wait to read what you’ve come up with! In a similar vein, Stone Soup contributor Anna Rowell wrote a Daily Creativity prompt on Wednesday that asked you to take one of your favorite characters and create a story about how they would act during the time of coronavirus. Both of these prompts ask you to dive into the world of fan fiction. If you’re not familiar, fan fiction is when a writer takes fictional characters or their worlds and adds onto them in their own story. While it’s fun to make up a story entirely of your own creation, sometimes it’s comforting to anchor your story with elements from books that you’ve read or movies you’ve seen. Maybe you’ve become attached to a character and want to place them in a new situation of your own invention. Or maybe you want to create a story where the characters from your two favorite stories meet! The possibilities for fan fiction are endless.One famous example of fan fiction is Death Comes to Pemberley by author P.D. James. The book takes place after the happily-ever-after conclusion of Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice. James takes the existing characters, like Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, and places them in a new genre: murder mystery. Could you do something similar with one of your favorite books and imagine what could happen after “The End”? If Molly or Anna’s prompt inspired you to write a fan fiction of your own, think about how you can expand your piece into something longer. What elements of the original story or character do you want to keep? And in what ways do you want to expand and explore new ground? Until next week, Winners from Weekly Flash Contest #7 The week commencing May 11 (Daily Creativity prompt #36) was our seventh week of flash contests, with another record number of entries including one from our youngest-ever Flash Contest entrant! We had fun meeting time travelers from different eras from ancient history (even dinosaurs!) to the present (yes, some time travel was projected into the future—it’s complicated!), and it was even harder than usual to choose our favorites. We commend all of the entrants for their imagination, and for the creative ways they found to bring their characters from the past into life in the present using clothes, language, and misunderstandings about contemporary everyday life to make them real. This week, we are announcing our five winners, whose work is published below, plus five honorable mentions. Congratulations, everyone! Winners (work published on this page) Isabel Bashaw, 10, Enumclaw, WA Samson Brown, 12, Cary, NC Ava Shorten, 10, Mallow, Ireland Michela You, 11, Lexington, MA Xuyi (Lauren) Zheng, 10, Guelph, Ontario, Canada Honorable Mentions “The Time Watch” by Hannah Nami Gajcowski, 10, Bellevue, WA “Lace, Frills, and Clever Jokes” by Samantha Lee, 10, Thomaston, CT “Prehistoric Visitors” by Sean Tenzin O’ Connor, 4, Bishop, CA “Panic From the Seventies” by Lauren Oh, 12, Cary, NC “A Dose of Time” by Ella Yamamura, 12, Cary, NC Remember, we are running the Flash Contest every week during the COVID-19-related school closures and shelter-in-place arrangements. It is always based on the first Daily Creativity prompt of the week. The prompt is posted on Monday, entries are due by Friday, and the winners are chosen and announced the following week. Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at Stonesoup.com! Himank,12, illustrated a piece called “Utopia for Animals,” which shows how COVID-19 has impacted life for animals. Read an update from the Stone Soup Book Club’s fifth meeting. A poem from Marjona, 11, a student in Uzbekistan. Daniel, 10, reviews the book Heat by Mike Lupica. The book is about family, friendship, and baseball. Emerson, 12, wrote a poem called “Tick Tock” that emphasizes the strange quality time has taken during the time of coronavirus. We posted a cartoon by Natya, 12, called “How the Handshake Has Evolved.” Check it out and consider buying a print of it to support a nonprofit in Natya’s area. In her poem, Cora, 13, wonders about the way our lives have shifted since COVID-19: “Will it Ever End?” Abhyudoy, 13, reads his poem “A Brief History of a Fictional Virus.” Summer Camp: Young Author’s Studio Stone Soup is offering summer camp via Zoom in collaboration with the Society of Young Inklings. We’re calling it Young Author’s Studio. We’re offering three weeks with three different themes. Design a Novel: June 8–11, 2020 (9–11 a.m. PDT) Character Lab: June 15–18, 2020 (9–11 a.m. PDT) Design a Picture Book: June 22–25, 2020 (9–11 am PDT) For more information, visit the Young Author’s Studio website. From Stone Soup May 2020 One Hop at a Time By Sara Heller, 12 (New York, NY) Art by Sage Millen, 12 (Vancouver, Canada) The thin black straps from my leotard dug into my skin. My feet stung and ached inside my dirty, pink pointe shoes, and the humid room reeked of sweat.
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Flash Contest #7: Time Traveling Characters From the Past. Our Winners and Their Work!
Weekly Flash Contest #7: Be a time traveler in reverse! What would happen if a character from the past arrived in the present? Choose a time period you like and know a little bit about, and write down at least 3 things that make it really different to now. Now imagine that someone your age and your gender has arrived in your house from that time in the past. Use your list of differences to write a story about what happens during the day you spend together. The week commencing May 11th (Daily Creativity prompt #36) was our seventh week of flash contests, with another record number of entries including one from our youngest-ever Flash Contest entrant! We had fun meeting time travellers from different eras from ancient history (even dinosaurs!) to the present (yes, some time travel was projected into the future–it’s complicated!), and it was even harder than usual to choose our favourites. We commend all of the entrants for their imagination, and for the creative ways they found to bring their characters from the past into life in the present using clothes, language and misunderstandings about contemporary everyday life to make them real. This week, we are announcing our 5 Winners, whose work is published below, plus 5 Honorable Mentions. Congratulations, everyone! Winners (work published on this page) Isabel Bashaw, 10, Enumclaw, WA Samson Brown, 12, Cary, NC Ava Shorten, 10, Mallow, Ireland Michela You, 11, Lexington, MA Xuyi (Lauren) Zheng, 10, Guelph, Ontario, Canada Honorable Mentions “The Time Watch” by Hannah Nami Gajcowski, 10, Bellevue, WA “Lace, Frills, and Clever Jokes” by Samantha Lee, 10, Thomaston, CT “Prehistoric Visitors” by Sean Tenzin O’ Connor, 4, Bishop, CA “Panic From the Seventies” by Lauren Oh, 12, Cary, NC “A Dose of Time” by Ella Yamamura, 12, Cary, NC Remember, we are running the Flash Contest every week during the COVID-19-related school closures and shelter-in-place arrangements. It is always based on the first Daily Creativity prompt of the week. The prompt is posted on Monday, entries are due by Friday, and the winners are chosen and announced the following week. Isabel Bashaw, 10 Enumclaw, WA My Weekend With Jane Isabel Bashaw, 10 My name is Isabel, and this weekend, the craziest thing happened to me. I don’t know where to start, but I’ll begin on Friday night, when everyone was in bed . . . * * * “Hoo Hoo Hoo . . .” I was awakened in the middle of the night by an annoying owl outside my bedroom. And since I was up, I decided to have a snack. I crept downstairs, so as not to wake anyone up. I grabbed two peanut butter cookies and a tall glass of milk, then I went back upstairs to eat at my desk. I munched on a cookie, then gulped down some of my creamy white milk. After I had finished, I clambered back in bed, and tried to sleep. But after five minutes, I was startled by a green orb hovering over my pillow. I leapt under my covers in fear. When I looked up, the green orb was shaking violently. I tried to move, but I felt stuck to my bed. Finally, the orb stopped shaking, and a girl fell out of it, and landed on top of me. “mff gt off of e!” I said, muffled under the weight of the mysterious girl. “Sorry!” she said, and climbed down from my bed. “What the heck?!” I yelped, rubbing my eyes. This girl looked like a pioneer. She was wearing a bonnet, a shabby dress, and was super tan. Her barefoot feet smelled terrible! “What is this house? It’s so pink!” said the girl, walking around. “It’s not a house, silly! Its my bedroom,” I said, eying her. “WOW!” She cried, and started jumping all over the place. I heard footsteps coming up to my room, and quickly told the girl: “get under my covers, and stay there. Be super quiet, too.” She obeyed me, and then I started jumping until the door swung open and my dad walked in. “What are you doing up here? It’s 4:00 in the morning, Isabel. Stop jumping around! You’ll wake the baby!” He looked around. “Who said wow?” I quickly came up with a fib. “I was singing a song! WOW! I am a star, la la la la WOW!” I sang, with an offbeat tone. Clearly my dad didn’t buy my act. He went up to my bed, and pulled up the covers, where the girl had fallen asleep. “What!? Did I say you could invite a friend over to play dress up in the middle of the night?!” he barked, then walked back to me. “Sorry Dad.” I whispered. “Just don’t wake anyone else up again, ‘K?” he said, his eyes softening. “Okay, ‘night dad.” I said. Then he walked out of the room, and the girl leapt out of the bed. “My name is Jane, by the way, and an hour ago I was in my log cabin, when this lady appeared in front of me and told me that I was allowed to go forward in time to see the future for 24 hours. I said okay, and the next thing I know I am falling onto a stranger’s bed, and that’s the whole story basically.” I was shocked, and not entirely convinced. “When is your birthday?” I asked, suspiciously. “May 23rd, 1845” she said in a split second. “I still can’t believe that this is just one room!” “Well,” I said, “I guess you can hang out with me for 24 hours. So, what’s it like, being a pioneer?” “Is that what people call us? Well, I sew mittens, hats, and socks, but I mean everyone does that. I also help mama stir the beans, and make cornbread. I churn the butter, and milk our cow Besie, and care for her calf Beanie. I also harvest crops from our garden, and I love to play
Book Club Report: Out of My Mind, by Sharon M. Draper
An update from our sixth Stone Soup Book Club meeting! This week, in Book Club, we began discussing Out of My Mind, by Sharon M. Draper. This is the story of a 10-year-old girl with Cerebral Palsy. She is extremely intelligent but struggles to communicate her thoughts—she cannot speak, write, or walk. We began our session talking in small groups about the importance of words. We discussed the role words play in our lives, whether words are more valued verbally or written, and how we might try to communicate without the ability to speak or move our bodies. We went on to discuss the strength of Melody as the main character and the role of the many companion characters the author uses to tell her story. We also talked about what we considered the core themes of the book, including perseverance, courage, strength, the importance of friendship, and our deep human yearning to communicate with others. Next week, we are so excited to be joined by Adam Gidwitz, author of The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, the Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog, for the first part of our session. Please come prepared with a few questions about the book, if you read it, or writing more generally. Since we have only a short time with Mr. Gidwitz, please keep in mind that everyone may not have the opportunity to ask a question directly. Following our time with Adam Gidwitz, we will continue discussing Out of My Mind and conclude by voting on the next one or two books we will read in Book Club. The Participants: Anya, Georgia, Lena, Vishnu, Rachel, Lucy, Joanna, Djin, Enni, Kaya, Allegra, Arianna, Katie, Zoe, Penelope, Em Jay, Isabel, Chloe 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.
