I fingered my pencil nervously as I stared ahead at the big screen. A new question appeared. This was it. After this question, it would be my turn. I was terrified and excited at the same time. I have been looking forward to my turn for a long time but as it got closer, I became nervous. I was at the Mathcounts chapter competition and this was the countdown round. In the countdown round, a math problem is projected onto a screen for two kids to solve. The one who figures it out the fastest presses a buzzer. After three questions, the kid who answered more questions correctly goes on to the next round and the other one leaves. It is very intense, since there are only forty five seconds to solve each problem. MathCounts is a math competition with different parts. First, there are two individual rounds where your score and ranking come from. That determines whether or not you get an award at the end. Then there is a more fun round where you get to work with a team. Finally, there is the countdown round. Only one person represents their school during the countdown round. The countdown round doesn’t actually affect your score, it is just for fun. But in my opinion, it is still the scariest out of all the rounds. I didn’t have to do the countdown round. I chose to do it because I enjoy it. But as my turn came closer, I got more nervous and I almost regretted the decision to do it. The countdown round takes place right before the awards, so everyone’s mind is on the awards. We’ve all worked hard for this and we all want the award, but there’s only so many to give out. My parents say that it doesn’t matter what I get. That even if I do badly, I still learned a lot from preparing. That what matters is the journey, not the destination. But still, it would feel good to get an award after practicing for this so much. Everyone is there in the award room waiting, watching from the long rows of seats spiraling upwards in the huge room, as the kids down below, answer the questions. Sitting there in the front you can feel everyone’s eyes on you as you rush to solve the problem. I heard applause. This round was over. As they called my name, I walked to the front of the room and sat down in one of the two chairs for the participants. I smiled at my friend as she sat down in the other chair. My friend and I were both representing our schools in the countdown round. We were both hoping that we wouldn’t have to go against each other, but the people in charge didn’t know that. I held the buzzer in my left hand and my pencil in my right hand, ready for the question. The first problem was an equation where they wanted the smallest value of x. I started thinking, going through the options. I was pretty sure that the answer was two but not sure enough to buzz in. Then, my friend buzzed in. “Four,” she said. The moderator said that it was wrong. Then I buzzed in and said “Two.” They announced that two was correct. Then, the next question appeared on the screen. I did the problem and answered correctly. The round was over. I shook hands with my friend and then I went back to my seat to wait for my next turn. Next, there were two more people. The winner would go against me next. Did I stand a chance? I knew the girl in that round. I knew that she is very good in math and very fast. I wondered what the boy was like? The first question appeared on the screen. The moderator began to read it aloud. He’d barely begun when the boy buzzed in. I didn’t even know what the question was. I hadn’t finished reading it. “That is correct.” the moderator said. The same thing happened with the second question and the round was over. How can anyone be so fast? I knew that I didn’t stand a chance against this boy. Still, part of me was hoping that I could answer at least one of the questions. When it was my turn, I went down the stairs to the seats. The first question appeared on the screen. This one was an equation that I had to solve. I started to write it down and solve it but then the boy pressed his buzzer. He was correct. I tried again for the second question but I wasn’t fast enough. I lost at the countdown round but I didn’t really mind. It was fun anyway. As scary as it was, I enjoyed it. The same things that make it scary, the short amount of time to solve each problem and the huge room of people watching you, also make it exciting, an adventure. I would never choose not do it. Even though the competition was only a couple of weeks ago, I am already looking forward to next year’s countdown round.
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Saturday Newsletter: February 23, 2019
I still remember driving into the tiny, midwestern town in Iowa Illustrator Martin Taylor, 10, for “Song of a Wanderer” by Annie Strother, 13. Published July/August 2000. A note from Jane Levi I love this painting by Martin Taylor, commissioned by our former editor Gerry Mandel in 2000, to illustrate Annie Strother’s story, “Song of a Wanderer”. Besides its striking use of color, and the fantastic amount of detail Martin packs into his picture, I really appreciate the way that he uses perspective to reveal so many scenes within scenes. It’s an illustration that not only captures a moment in the story–the protagonist’s memory of driving into a town in Iowa, the latest town she and her brother have been brought to by their wandering parents–but also paints a picture of the rest of the story, in three major parts. The first part talks about the journeys undertaken by the Wanderers of the title. In fact, the majority of the picture (about two-thirds of the whole) is taken up with a long road through the countryside, implying a lengthy road trip, great distances travelled, and a significant amount of time taken up with such journeys. The trees are reminiscent of the Wisconsin landscape they are leaving, and also hint at the kinds of scenery they have seen on their previous journeys through other states. A little bird looks out on the scene from the top of a tree, while others fly above the forest. The road seems to end almost on the edge of a precipice, or at least a very steep hill, and–like the children in the story– we are jolted into the town, the second part of the image and the story. There is so much detail packed into this part of the picture, that it’s amazing to recognise that this huge town all fits into only two-thirds of the remaining third of the page! Studying these streets and buildings we can imagine all the hundreds or even thousands of new people, the possible new homes, the new schools and stores and restaurants and sports grounds that the children will have to learn about in this new place. In the last small section of the picture, we move from sharp focus on detail into the hazier distance. Beyond the limits of the town we can see more green of forests or plains or hills stretching out and up into the sky. The narrator of the story knows that at some point they will move on again from this town into an unknown future, and we, like her, can only guess at what this distant prospect holds: we just know it is there. This weekend, why not try telling a whole story through an illustration? Make a piece of work that captures a moment, but at the same time speaks about the mood or the overall message of the whole story. If you like, you can use the same kind of aerial perspective that Martin uses (you can read more about that below). As always, if you like what you have made, please send it to us via the Submit button below, or on our website. Remember, there is no fee for art submissions, and you can send us up to 3 in one submission. We always look forward to seeing what you have created. Until next week Aerial perspective One technique for getting lots of detail into one picture–besides having the patience to draw a lot of tiny detail, of course!–is to use perspective. This week’s illustration uses a kind of perspective called aerial perspective, which gives a view, known as an oblique view (because it is at an angle), across a wide range of a landscape. The effect is that the viewer is looking across the scene from a distance, as if from the top of a mountain or the window of an airplane–for a great example of a view from an airplane check out “Parade of Clouds” by Asfia Jawed from the May 2018 issue of Stone Soup. This perspective is different from birds-eye view, which tends to look straight down at the ground from directly above, a similar perspective to a typical map. It is often said by art historians that the use of the aerial view in art really took off in the twentieth century, mainly because of the advent of air travel. This kind of perspective had become increasingly popular in the century before, when the French balloonist known as Nadar (Gaspard-Félix Tournachon) took the very first aerial photographs from his balloon, starting in 1858. Sadly, those photographs of his did not survive, but the Met Museum in New York has a photographic aerial view from 1860, “Boston, as the Eagle and the Wild Goose See It”, which was taken by James Wallace Black. This is the earliest known aerial photograph of a city. As air travel became increasingly common, aerial views became more popular. You’ll see them in all sorts of photographs and artworks once you start looking out for them! What will you choose for your art experiment with aerial perspective? You don’t have to go up in a balloon or a plane! You could work from a photograph you took of a view when you were out walking one day. You could also work from life. Perhaps you live in a tall building and can look at the view from your window. Or maybe, like Martin, you can construct a whole view from your imagination. Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at stonesoup.com! We published a lovely concrete poem by Angela called “The Fire Flower” on the blog this week. Check out the illustration Angela sent in plus the transcription of the poem included below it. Interested in the experiences of refugee children around the world? Read Ivy’s book review of Refugee by Alan Gratz, which focuses on a Jewish boy in the 1930s in Nazi Germany, a Cuban girl in the 1990s, and a Syrian boy in modern times. From Stone Soup July/August 2000 Song of a Wanderer By Annie Strother, 13 Illustrated by Martin Taylor,
Refugee, Reviewed by Ivy Halpern, 13
I read the book Refugee by Alan Gratz. Refugee is about three different kids in three different time periods, however, they all have one thing in common, their home isn’t safe anymore and they must leave it. Josef is a Jewish boy born in Germany, escaping the Nazis in the 30s. Isabel is living in Communist Cuba during the 90s, looking to escape the riots and her family is trying to get to America. And Mahmoud, a Syrian boy living in a country being destroyed by war is struggling to travel to safety with his family. Even though I read all three stories at the same time, they took place in different eras, and the author does an extremely good job of connecting the stories (read it to find out how) and this connection is purposeful: the author is letting the reader know that these stories exist in every generation. While reading this book, I became connected to the characters. Since Josef is Jewish I can picture him as a member of my own family during that era. I can also connect to Mahmoud because he is living in modern times, in a modern city like me but his city is being destroyed. Although I didn’t connect to Isabel’s story as much, I still found it very interesting. Shortly after reading this book I read about a swimmer on the Refugee Olympic Team. She had a story that was similar to Mahmoud’s. She had to swim for three hours in freezing cold water, and was able to save 20 people. This made the book very real to me. Unlike the last book I read, I really enjoyed Refugee. It was truly a page turner. I think it’s really important for Ramaz students to read this book because we have been learning a lot about the Holocaust in history. The Holocaust was in the past but we need to remember that many people today need to escape the only place they know because it’s not safe due to gang violence, poor governance or more. After reading this book I feel so lucky to have been born in America where Jews and non-Jews have equal rights, where we have a democracy, and where I do not live in fear of imminent violence. Refugee by Alan Gratz. Scholastic Press, 2017. 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!
