Arch of Life (iPhone X)Sloka Ganne, 10 (Overland Park, KS), published in Stone Soup February 2020 A note from William First, some updates. Refugee art and writing. Work is coming in. As one would expect, graphic art is more common than written work. If any of you have any connections with refugee projects anywhere in the world, including on the southern US border, that you have not shared with us, please write to the project coordinator, Laura Moran: laura@stonesoup.com. Facebook/Instagram advertising. We are going to start an advertising program at Facebook and Instagram. If any of you are whizzes at social media advertising and think you might be able to help, then write to me, William, at newsletter@stonesoup.com. Thank you. Arch of Life. Arches are funny things. It is in their nature to suggest a passing through—a journey’s beginning or end. This photograph of the arch in St. Louis says to me, “possibilities.” What does it say to you? I want you to hold that thought, and then grab a phone or camera and take a photograph that expresses that same idea. If you like what you come up with a lot, submit it to Emma for consideration for Stone Soup. Stone Soup bloggers. I am so proud of our Stone Soup bloggers. We started the blogs a couple years ago in order to expand the kind of writing we can publish. Stone Soup will always stay a literary magazine of fiction, art, and poetry. The blogs are where young writers can publish book reviews, essays, how-to projects, works on sports, science, etc. The blogs have no content or genre restrictions. I’d like you to look through recent blogs. The recently published essay “What Can We Learn About History from Objects” by Mohan Li is a thought-provoking work. This particular post is probably more appropriate for our older Stone Soup readers and for adults, but you will all find writing in the Stone Soup blogs that will interest you. Mohan’s essay discusses a really fundamental human problem: We live, we may do fabulous things, but then we die. What is left? Historians struggle with this. How can we learn about the past when most knowledge dies with people? As a practical matter, objects that can last, like objects made out of rock, are often all this is left from ancient times, even though those times were filled with interesting people doing interesting things. Historians often only have physical objects to use to try to understand what life was like in the past. Read this essay, and then I want you to look around your house, or outdoors, for an object that is solid enough to survive for a few hundred years, at least. This has to be something that doesn’t use electricity and isn’t made of anything that can rot or rust away. Imagining yourself in the future. What story does that object tell? I think the flash fiction format would we appropriate for this writing project. See what you can do with 250 words. If Mohan’s essay inspires your thinking, and you’d like to read more speculations based on objects, then I can recommend a book that Mohan is likely to have read: A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor, a former director of London’s British Museum. If you are age 13 and under, then you can blog for Stone Soup. Go to the submissions page and make a proposal. 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! This week, Abhi reviewed Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. “It changed my perspective not only about the genre of fantasy, but also about books themselves,” Abhi writes. Read the review to find out why Abhi was so affected by the book. Bargain Back Issues! Did you know that we reduce the prices of Stone Soup back issues in our online store? Any issue published over six months ago is reduced by 25%—that’s $5 per issue, instead of $7.50. And issues over 12 months old are half price, just $3.75 each. The cover date may be 2018 or 2019, but the content in Stone Soup never gets old, and you can’t beat the feeling of holding one of our beautiful magazines in your hands. Why not give the print edition of the magazine a try, or build up your collection of back issues, at a bargain price? From Stone Soup February 2020 The Angel By Bo-Violet Vig, 13 (Los Angeles, CA) What a little angel she is Whisper the Jewish Sunday-school ladies behind gloved hands As I flounce down the hall All dressed up in my blue silk party dress, the one with the frills on the bottom Another gift from Daddy’s friends in Chicago A special dress for a special girl like you My proud parents beam with pride when I stand behind the microphone in the school auditorium: Oh, say can you see . . .? The only first-grader allowed up on stage What good manners she has The waitress at the diner smiles over the counter at me when I ask for a straw These are the three keys—thank you, you’re welcome, and may I please . . . …/More 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.
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Inkheart, Reviewed by Abhi, 11
To be honest, when I first saw this book, my heart stopped. At the time, I didn’t really have a book to read (at least not a book for my reading level) and I was running out of what to choose from. Then when I realized there was another fantasy series on the shelf that I didn’t know about, I froze. A fantasy series, for me? I thought. In no time at all I ran up to the librarian, checked the book out, and ran all the way back home. Even after all that, I didn’t expect a ton from this book. But then when I realized what the book was trying to convey, and learned more about the characters and their complex backgrounds, my mind was blown. Inkheart is a book about books. I know that sounds weird, but you’ll understand soon enough. Basically, the whole book revolves around a young girl named Meggie. When she one day discovers a book her father, Mo, tries to keep secret, she gets very suspicious about what’s going on. Soon enough, her father gets captured by a man named Capricorn. She tries to save him, but she gets captured as well! She and her father are then taken to a creepy village, and as Meggie soon learns what’s really happening, discovers that this village, and this devil Capricorn not only want the book, but something far bigger than she could have ever imagined. Now, I didn’t love this book at first. The first half was very slow, underwhelming, and didn’t deliver much. However, once I got to the second half, my whole perspective changed. I then understood why the first half was so slow, and soon, I got addicted. Very addicted. The reason the second half (and basically the whole book if you think about it) stands out compared to other fantasy books is that it makes you think. Most fantasy books I’ve read are mostly just quick adventures with fast-paced action and some small themes, but that’s it. Even my favorite ones (like Harry Potter Books 1-6) focus mostly on the adventure and action in Harry’s adventure, rather than the relationships between the characters, and themes like friendship, sacrifice and power. But Inkheart is different. You learn about the characters’ lives, and ask questions like “Why?” or “How?” For example, Mo doesn’t immediately tell Meggie about the book (because obviously, it’s a secret), but as Meggie gets more caught up in it, he tells her the truth. And he doesn’t just say, “So I found this book and took it with me,” but talks personally about how this book has affected him. It’s amazing that this whole book revolves around one book, and how all these characters get deeply affected by it one way or another. It made me realize the power of books. The amount of knowledge, happiness, and sadness you can get from them— depending on which one you read. It changed my perspective not only about the genre of fantasy, but also about books themselves, which is saying something for a five-hundred-page book. The book is also very clever in how it handles the evolution of the main story line. During their stay at Capricorn’s village, Meg and friends don’t just escape through a window using some crazy James Bond 007 skills. It’s nothing like that. Instead, the author uses these moments to teach us more about the characters, and to reveal more about the villain’s backstory. And he doesn’t do this this through long conversations where the characters sit around and just talk. Instead, Meggie and her father know they have a specific time window before the villains crash the party, and as a reader, you can feel the clock ticking. So much stuff happens at once—all leading to one epic finale—in which there’s no crazy prison escape. There are many characters cleverly brought into the main story to solve various problems, and each of them impacts the plot in some way (even the animals!). In sum, the author conveys the story through clever storytelling techniques rather than long drawn out dialogues or discussions about the Truth and hidden secrets, like The Kane Chronicles and The Heroes of Olympus. Inkheart is one of the best books I’ve read in a while. At first glance, it might seem just like a fun, whimsical adventure, but when you look deeper into it, you’ll realize the themes and beauty it’s trying to convey, and that is why I absolutely loved it. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. Scholastic, 2005. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? Let us know in the comments below!
Saturday Newsletter: February 15th, 2020
Fall Portrait (Painter Essentials 5) By Mia Fang, 13 (West Lafayette, IN), published in Stone Soup February 2020 A note from William I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day. I am in Belgium, land of chocolate! Yesterday, it snowed! As a native coastal Californian, I have only seen snow falling a few times in my life, so I was very excited! Big soft pieces of frozen water falling from the sky. Amazing! This snow I just experienced brings me to a belated snow-related announcement: I’d like to announce that Analise Braddock, Stone Soup artist and poet, won a prize last November in a poetry contest sponsored by the New York Botanical Garden in partnership with the Poetry Society of America. The contest was judged by former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins. So congratulations to you, Analise, for having your snow-related poem “Tall and Proud” selected for this award. Analise is in third grade. Tall and Proud Tall and proud they stand Up at the top the wind dances while snow gently patters down to the world Lights flicker and the snow falls bringing warmth to everyone If you listen, you can hear the skyscrapers and the snow speaking Puzzling or not puzzling they know what they are saying There they stand tall and proud This many-layered poem makes an observation well-suited to poetry: “If you listen, you can hear the skyscrapers and the snow speaking.” With this line, Analise opens up the whole idea of our built environment—whether it is skyscrapers, houses, cars, roads, anything made by us humans—communicating with the natural world. Let this thought work through your imagination. Where does this thought take you? Can your imagination take you to a place where buildings and snow can talk with each other? Can your imagination take you to a place where roads and rain have a connection? Airplanes and the sky? Your answer can certainly be “no” or “maybe.” Read Analise’s poem several times. See where her images and ideas take you, and create a story, poem, picture, or photograph of your own that deals with the intersection of nature and our built environment. 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! Apple is a huge company, and it claims to have adopted eco-friendly practices. Blogger Daniel dives into these in his blog post from this week: “Is Apple Really as Green as it Seems?” Even though Daniel admits the company has made strides, he argues there’s still a lot more it can do. Have you ever enjoyed a book, even though based on the cover you thought it might be too childish? Lucinda, 13, reviews Girls Who Code: Spotlight on Coding Club and writes about how she was pleasantly surprised with the book, which dealt with tough topics like anxiety and the absence of parents. From Stone Soup February 2020 The Old Woman By Rachel Ding, 13 (Cupertino, CA) Illustrated by Mia Fang, 13 (West Lafayette, IN) Once, there was a little girl with two pigtails. She was a joy to all those around her and was constantly happy. Her backpack was a bright red, and her shoes were a colorful pink. Her small feet carried her across a new street, and she skipped and skipped her way toward a woman who wore a placid face and held a silence that even the innocent little girl could hear. The woman didn’t look up, but instead kept on raking those beautiful autumn leaves. The girl passed by with the smallest glance at the strange woman and then skipped all the way to her first day of school. At school, she learned and learned and played and played. The girl lost her pigtails and then her ponytail and finally had her hair down straight. She was one moment the happiest person on Earth, then the next moment crying through school. She was in a constant state of tears and laughter and much-regretted idleness. She stopped her skipping after a year and started running after three, for bullies ran fast. But in time, she slowed down to a walk. Her red backpack was lost and so was her green one, and at some point she had none. And finally, after all that change, winter came, and she went down the street again. She was nervously walking, tripping over her heels and carrying a stack of books. She headed toward the old woman whose face remained unchanged except for her hair, which had become grey. By then, the woman walked with a limp …/MORE 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.
