Julian slowly reached out his hand to the kitten’s fur Illustration by Joe Lobosco, 13, for “Creamsicle” by Bonnie Robinson, 11. Published in Stone Soup, November/December 2002. A note from William Rubel William’s Weekend Projects Photography: Material World–#WhatsInMyBackpack Would you like to be featured on Stone Soup’s Instagram account? We’re running another Instagram photo project. I mentioned this photography opportunity a couple weeks ago, but I’d like to feature the project more fully. The project itself is super simple. Just take everything out of your backpack, photograph it, write up a sentence or two about what you keep in your pack and why, and upload the photo and text to our website in the appropriate submission category. If editor Emma Wood likes it, she’ll post it to our Instagram account. This project is inspired, in part, by the work of Peter Menzel, an American photojournalist. One of his most remarkable projects is his Material World project. He chose 30 families, mostly from different countries, that were each statistically “average”—thus, within their own country, neither rich nor poor. He asked people to take all of their possessions out of their houses, down to the last spoon, and display everything in front of their houses so he could photograph them posed with their possessions. The book he made out of these pictures is called Material World. What we own says something about each of us. Our possessions tell a story. As students, all of your backpacks will tell a student story—the binders, exam notebooks, pens, pencils, and so on say “student.” There may be objects that suggest you are in a particular grade, or can’t leave the house without a special snack. Or, something that suggests you are a musician or a sportsperson. When I was at school, my binder was always a horrible mess. It was often filled with loose pieces of paper because I wouldn’t put papers into it properly. In high school, one of my teachers took my notebook, threw it up in the air, and as the notebook and papers fell to the ground, said to the class, “Rubel’s rubble!” Indeed, as my colleagues and any visitor to my house will confirm, I am something of a messy person still. So there may be a little of your personality revealed in these photos too. If you are age 13 and younger, you may send us up to three images, so be creative in your photography. Play with the lighting, camera angle, and how you lay out the objects. On the simplest level, this is a documentary project—a snapshot of what is in your backpack on a given day at a given time. But you can use the way you display your backpack objects, the light, and the camera angle to create images that catch your viewers’ eyes—images that make them stop and think. I’d like you to make this your weekend project. If you get into it, then you could document other containers filled with possessions—your closet, desk drawer, your dresser, bathroom cabinet, the floor of your room. Anything you like! Adults reading this should take part in the exercise too. Writing a play As I mentioned last week, we are in the process of revising our anthologies. “The Bear,” by Lena Boesser-Koschmann, was in the original Animals anthology and will be in the new edition. A large portion of the story is told as a discussion among four people. I am linking you here to a playwriting project inspired by this story. I hope at least a few of you will take up the challenge to write a play. As always, if you like the results, send them in! Until next week, Partnership news Miacademy We have an exciting partnership in place with Miacademy, the interactive learning site for K-8th grade. Writing from Stone Soup is being featured on their site, and Miacademy subscribers have the opportunity to submit their work to us. As part of this partnership, our friends at Miacademy are offering generous discounts to Stone Soup subscribers: 20 to 40 percent off, depending on which type of subscription you purchase. To find out more about Miacademy and explore the various services on offer, visit their website and read the information for parents. If you choose to join, simply enter the code STONESOUP2018 at the checkout to receive your discount. Secret Kids contest As readers of this newsletter will already know, we are running a contest in partnership with Mackenzie Press: the Secret Kids Contest. All of the details are on our website–suffice to say, that if you are under the age of 18 and working on a long-form piece of writing, you should be thinking about getting it ready to submit by the end of the year to be in with a chance of winning one of the prizes of a publishing contract. Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our book reviewers and young bloggers at Stonesoup.com! Be inspired to read more with Nushu Shri’s post, ‘Getting Closer to your Goals’, on using Goodreads to reach and exceed your reading targets, and a challenge to keep a reading journal. We also have the first in a new series of guest posts by older readers and writers: Kat J.’s ‘The Big Split’, about Stone Soup story ‘Seeing Over the Side of the Boat’ and how such stories can inform adults and help other kids going through the experience of family break-up. Plus, two new book reviews: 13-year-old Lin Lynn Tao tells us her thoughts on Gary D. Schmidt’s Okay For Now, while 12-year-old Michael reviews Scythe by Neal Schusterman. From Stone Soup November/December 2002 Creamsicle By Bonnie Robinson, 11 Illustrated by Joe Lobosco, 13 It’s dead. That was twelve-year-old Julian Horowitz’s first thought when he spotted the kitten in the white-blanketed woods when he was walking home from school. The kitten was vividly orange and bright white colored, reminding Julian of a Creamsicle ice cream bar. It (Julian didn’t know whether the kitten was male or female) was
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Scythe, Reviewed by Michael, 12
Scythe is about a world in the future, where humans have conquered all things, even death. Immortality is rapidly causing overpopulation. The Thunderhead, the artificial intelligence that now governs the world, decides to fix the problem by creating the Scythedom, an organization of trained killers, the Scythes. The Thunderhead made the Scythes the only ones with the right to kill, or as it is called, glean. Two teenagers, Rowan Damisch and Citra Terranova lived the monotonous life that is commonplace in the Age of Immortality. One day, they are snatched out of their previous life and pushed into the world of Scythes. The two children are taken into apprenticeship by the Honorable Scythe Michael Faraday. Scythe Faraday explains to them that only one of the will become a Scythe. Even so, the two become close friends. The two grow farther and farther apart as they realize that they would have to glean each other or die themselves as only one of them can become a Scythe. Who will be victorious in becoming a Scythe? Or would death be better than having to glean your friend? Scythe shows what will happen with immortal humans. Although the world is supposedly perfect with the rule of the ultimate artificial intelligence, the Scythedom is infested with madmen who believe that gleaning is something to be enjoyed–an art. When they kill dozens and dozens of innocent people at a time, it is deemed “normal”. The immortality also changes people’s view of life and death. As people will never die (unless they get killed by Scythes), it causes people to take irrational choices with their life, such as jumping off of skyscrapers. People are not afraid of dying because they can be revived again and again. In our world, life is cherished as something that will only happen once. This makes people live more fulfilling lives. Although people treat life like it’s just a game in this future world, they are more afraid of dying permanently because they are so used to being revived. This makes it nearly impossible for humans to undertake adventures such as space exploration for example, because in space they do not have the technology and machinery to be revived. Due to this, humans are too afraid to be on any space exploration expeditions. There is much more at stake for them to take risk in the space because of their immortality back at home. However without the spirit of risk taking, humans would never have advanced so much. Looking back human history, risk-taking is how we have evolved since the beginning of mankind, from Christopher Columbus sailing to the Americas to Neil Armstrong being the first human on the moon. The cowardice of the humans in the world of Scythe causes humans to be trapped on the Earth, and the only way to stop overpopulation, sadly, has to be decreasing the population. This is why there are Scythes. I find it rather ridiculous that the human-created Thunderhead chose this way to curb the rapid population growth. Scythe is definitely one of my favorite books this summer. There are fast-paced action, an intriguing story, and humor throughout the book. I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys science fictions / thriller novels. It is amazing how this book really makes you ponder. Scythe by Neal Shusterman. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 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!
Okay for Now, Reviewed by Lin, 13
To be honest, Okay for Now, written by Gary D. Schmidt, did not immediately suck me in. The lead was rather ordinary. It wasn’t until I read about Doug’s brother physically abusing/threatening him that I really started to get immersed in the plot. Doug’s life is quite undesirable, in my opinion as well as his. His father hits him, his mother, and his brother. Doug is pushed around by his brother as well. As I was reading this part, I felt endlessly grateful that I have such a loving, caring family. Doug’s daily life is comprised of being slapped and punched. To him, it’s normal. To me, it’s horrifying. What kind of dad smacks his own wife and sons? What kind of brother threatens to break his siblings’ back? Those two characters have disgusted me so far. Thankfully, Doug’s mom is a kind person. In a way, she reminds me of my mom; sweet, caring, doing things for others, and most importantly, having the smile of an angel. As his buddies were introduced, I was thinking that the story wasn’t too bad; at least the main character had friends. But then of course Doug has to move. His entire childhood is uprooted and plunked down in Marysville, New York. He lives in a miniature house in a stifling hot town. He has to be the new kid in a school where everyone already knows each other. Throughout the story Doug repeatedly states that he hates Marysville. I don’t blame him in the least. If I was in his place, I would be complaining left and right. There are some good things in Marysville however. Doug gets a job as a delivery boy. He meets a girl named Lil whom he develops a close bond. An old man named Mr. Powell teaches him to draw. There are little shining stars among the pitch-black of the sky. It was very interesting how there were pictures of birds before each chapter. I think each picture represents a different person or situation in the book. For example, Doug is probably thinking of himself as he describes the Arctic Tern. He sees the term crashing toward the sea, out of control, beak open to get that last breath of air, wings arrowed down, and most importantly that one terrified eye. In a way that is reflecting the situation he currently is in. The one terrified eye keeps coming up later in the story to add emphasis to the comparison. Later on Doug sees the picture of the Red-Throated Divers. The mother bird wants to fly away but can’t, and that the baby bird isn’t sure whether to follow the mother or the two other birds. I’m sure that just like the reality of Doug’s mother, who most likely yearns to leave but can’t because she must stay for that one baby bird. Last, Doug sees the puffin. At first he thinks they are chumps, ugly and fat and clumsy. But as the plot progresses, he see them in a new light as he starts to develop a liking for Lil. He draws them as if they like each other. It is a very interesting strategy. These pictures of birds represent good analogy to the characters and their situations. They make it easier to understand the person’s feelings and envision his or her difficult situation. Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt. Hmh Books for Young Readers, 2013. 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!
