They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky is about a civil war in the continent of Africa. Thousands of children are sent on a nauseating journey through horrible hardships, where survival is the only thing on their minds. As the book progresses, you can feel yourself going on this journey alongside them, facing their troubles and their grievings. Three boys who go by the names of, Benson, Alephonsion, and Benjamin are forced to go on this journey. They watch as their friends and family die. Worst part is, this is a true story. It all happened on a peaceful day, rumors about bombs destroying whole villages had been spreading around. These three boys had been going about their daily duties when suddenly, “…fire was poured on them from the sky.” Benson and Benjamin darted in different directions, unaware of each other’s safety. Alepho, however, managed to remain safe alongside his mother. Soon though, Alepho is forced to flee from his village, hiding underneath bushes until he manages to find a group of other boys like him. They all travel to different places in seek of shelter, food, and whereabouts of their family. This remains to be the main issue for most of the book, if you ignore all the deaths and casualties around them. This war lasted twenty-two years! That’s crazy! Going through starvation, dehydration, and illness while not knowing about their family’s safety. Terrible, I know. Anyhow, that’s enough of a summary. Let’s go over reviews. Silas will be making the first review, Kaiya the second. Silas’s Review: This book is written well but the story is just murder and torture walking to different villages trying to find a home. If you love history and pain this is the book for you. If you are looking for depth and emotional value then go grab a copy of To Kill A Mockingbird and read that. The writer seems to not know the extent of how many horrible chapters the reader can take before having an existential crisis, wondering how people can be so terrible. They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky is not a pleasure read, if you ever dare to turn the pages be ready. This book is for those who have a iron stomach and those who have very low expectations of humans. To top it of, the ending of this book feels very rushed. All of the book you are made to think nowhere is safe but suddenly they reach this camp and everything is ok! The writer seemed to fast forward years in the amount of three pages, then there are twenty about one long walk. This proves the author focuses on torture. Kaiya’s Review: This book was a trip! So much was happening at once, and at times, it was difficult to keep up! I can’t say that I enjoyed it, since there was so much gore and death, but I will say that it was well written. It put you in the boy’s perspectives. It’s not meant to be fun, sentimental, or enjoyable. It’s meant to show how much pain these boys went through. This is a real thing that has happened. Sure, maybe Benson, Benjamin, and Alephonsion is safe, but how about everyone else who died? Those who fell down and never came back up? You don’t finish this book satisfied, you finish it with grief, and disappointment. How could people kill over something so unimportant? Was it really so much of a big deal that thousands had to die? The ending may be short, and unsatisfying, but maybe that’s on purpose. Maybe it’s a lesson the author is trying to tell you, maybe it’s on purpose because they ran out of time. Nobody knows. Well, that’s my opinion. If you wish to read this, go ahead. Just be prepared for a long journey, and heartache. I wouldn’t recommend it, but it’s still about a terrible experience that many people had to go through. A true story, in fact. If you were to read it, instead of thinking that people are terrible, think of how you can better yourself. I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but it’d be nice if you did. Thanks for listening to me ramble! Well, that’s it! That’s our opinions on They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky. I hope this helps you decide on reading it or not! Remember, keep on reading! They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky by Benjamin Ajak, Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, and Judy A. Bernstein. PublicAffairs Publishing, 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!
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Nature Video: Pantanal, Brazil
In this video, I show films I took on a trip to the Pantanal in Brazil. The video features some of the Pantanal’s amazing wildlife. I wanted to create a compilation to remember my trip and educate others about the Pantanal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDis3LzpXt8
Saturday Newsletter: January 5, 2019
Deep sympathy filled his heart for the writer of the tattered diary Illustration by Annakai Hayakawa Geshlider, 12, for her story, Journeys to the Past, published in Stone Soup, January/February 2008. A note from Sarah Ainsworth Hello, Stone Soup readers! You may know me (Sarah) from subscription help or the blog, but this week I wanted to talk to you about what I am studying: archives. If you have any idea about what an archive is, the picture that comes to mind may be of some dusty shelves full of books or artefacts that haven’t been used in years. But as an aspiring archivist, I want to dispel any notion you might have that archives are only about the past. I want to instead encourage you to think about how archives maintain their relevance when people (like you!) access them in the present. Here’s a very brief introduction to archives: In the Western tradition, archives are institutions charged with taking care of historical records. These records are organized by their creator, whether that creator is an individual (like an author) or an organization (like a university or a hospital). An important concept for archivists is “original order.” This means that when archives receive papers, they have to keep them in the order their creator intended. The archivist is in charge of arranging the collection, describing its contents, and facilitating public access to the records. There are all different kinds of archives. There are archives for countries, like the National Archives in the United Kingdom. Sometimes companies have their own archives, like Disney. And famous authors, like Mark Twain and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, frequently have their own archives. Museums and universities often have archives too. For some physical archives, you need to book an appointment in advance or email the archivist to say you are coming in. But here’s a secret—in many cases, you don’t need to! You can just walk in, talk to the archivist, and ask them for the documents you are interested in. Just be sure to check the website or contact the archive directly. But if you don’t want to leave your house, there are also tons of online archives or archives that have lots of digitized content! The Internet Archive is just one example. Stone Soup has a tradition of publishing excellent historical fiction. In 2002, we published “Kisses from Cecile,” which uses historical records as its inspiration. The author, Marie Agnello, is fascinated by letters she found written by Cécile Cosqueric, a girl in Paris, to her pen pal, Ruth, who happened to be Marie’s great-grandmother. These letters offer Marie a whole new world, a different way of understanding life in 1919. Are there any archives in your area that you can visit? If so, try to plan a trip with a parent or other adult. If not, don’t worry! Look to your attic or basement—or even your computer. What is in your own personal—or your family’s—archive? Maybe your grandparents saved old magazines or newspapers. And if you don’t have access to old documents, remember that there is so much available online. The Library of Congress is a good place to start, but some of my personal favorites are the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New York Public Library’s Digital Collections. Find a record that speaks to you. What does it tell you about the past? What can you learn from it that you might not learn in a textbook? How can you invent a story around it? I would love to see what you come up with! Please reply to this newsletter or email me at sarah@stonesoup.com if you have any questions or comments about this activity. My best, This week on the blog This week on the blog we have something of a first: a nature video! See the beauty of Anna’s hummingbirds and learn about them with Sierra Glassman’s fascinating commentary. Plus, a review of John Steinbeck’s The Pearl by our regular reviewer, 12-year-old Vandana Ravi. Published in Stone Soup, January/February 2008, and in The Stone Soup Book of Historical Fiction Journeys to the Past Written and illustrated by Annakai Hayakawa Geshlider, 12 The floor creaked as Simon crept through his grandparents’ attic towards a large chest in the corner of the room that had caught his eye. In the dusty attic, cobwebs hung from the shelves and bookcases and a thick layer of dust blanketed the mildew-covered furniture. As he timidly tiptoed towards the chest, Simon felt an air of complete silence in the small room, a feeling that the whole world was waiting for him to discover what lay ahead. Carefully raising the key to the large brass lock that secured the maple-wood chest, Simon slowly turned it between his fingers. The key felt smooth and cool, and it fit perfectly in the keyhole. A satisfactory “click” sounded from the chest and he lifted the lid. Inside it was filled with many magnificent treasures: loads and loads of books. His eyes feasted upon the sight and he immediately reached for one of the musty spines, caution instantly gone from his body. And it was only a few moments later when Simon realized that what lay before him were not normal books. “Tuesday, December 23, 1986,” he read aloud into the dimly lit room. Once again he could almost feel the whole room listening to him. The ancient furniture, the peeling wallpaper covering the cracked walls, and even the spiders stopped weaving their webs to listen to Simon’s eloquent voice. Simon was good at reading aloud, and he knew it, for when he read aloud, he could nearly bring the words alive. “Dear Diary” he continued to his audience. “I know you aren’t much of a book, just a few old scraps bound together, but that was all I could find, just like everything is all I could find. When we are still hungry after dinner it is because those few scraps of meat and broken crackers were all I could find, and when we are cold at night it is because the small knit blanket was all I could find.
