This writing activity by Allison Finley is based on the poem “A Fraction of an Inch” by Abigail Rose Cargo, 13, published in Stone Soup, March/April 2017 Seeing Fractions of an Inch Everywhere After reading the first two couplets of Abigail Cargo’s poem, “Fraction of an Inch,” I was nostalgic for the many days I have spent fishing with my brothers and exploring the bays in Lake Tahoe over school breaks. Abigail’s poetic description of the connection the water and boat share reminds me specifically of how those trips almost always ended: when leaving a lake or ocean, it was always a fight to return the boat to land. Since my friends and family only went out boating once in a while, there was always a comical and stressful chaos in remembering how to get our boat back on its trailer. While the more experienced people on both sides of us would trailer their boats away quickly and effortlessly, my fellow shipmates and I would clumsily fight the water to claim back what was ours. Once the boat would finally start to get onto the trailer, we would slowly crank it further out of the water, a fraction of an inch at a time. At the beginning of the poem, Abigail does an amazing job depicting the back and forth that goes on between the truck and the water. The water’s “new prize”—the boat—must be skillfully put back onto the truck’s trailer. The water fights the truck back when “the waves bouncing off/ the boat’s hull” are a fraction of an inch from connecting with the rubber of the wheels. But this fraction of an inch is enough to cause the red truck’s wheels to spin ineffectively on the muddied concrete slab. Even though this poem is specifically from the point of view of the boat and the water, it reminds me of how this experience is always such a chaotic shift from a peaceful day we just had out on the water. Ultimately, I’m drawn to the way Abigail’s style emphasizes the fact that even the smallest measurement can add up, and that you’re always only a fraction of an inch away from something changing at anytime. Instead of focusing on all of the action happening around her, Abigail beautifully focuses on the little details of the scenes: the “Waves of green foam/ rolled over the railing/ in a calm firmness” and “the rippling water/ pool[ed] at the edge of/ a concrete slab.” It’s these little details in the first scene that bring her to talk about life and death. I love the way that breaking down the scene in front of her in this way makes her think of such complex changes in life. After considering “how closely/ life and death are related,” Abigail introduces a completely new scene: two birds circling each other above their prey. While this scene is much darker to reflect the tonal shift, the image presented is just as familiar an image to me as the first one, and it is as effective in depicting how all it takes is a fraction of an inch in one direction or another to change everything—especially “a fraction of an inch/ to the left,” for the chickens below. Abigail’s perspective throughout “A Fraction of an Inch” is mature. She personifies the water and the boat and then looks into the relationship between the two. To personify an object means to make something that is not a person like a person. In this poem, both the water and the boat “did not want” something. If you are inspired by the style of this piece, I encourage you to try personifying the objects around you to think about how they relate to their setting and to each other. What do they want or not want to happen? What do they see or experience? You might also try, like Abigail, to slow down a moment of chaos to focus on what each object is experiencing. Once you start slowing down, like Abigail, you’ll probably start seeing these fractions of an inch changes everywhere. Author Bio: Allison majored in Literature at UCSC. She first got involved in the literary journal world through Matchbox Magazine, which features and distributes poetry, prose, and art across the University of California system. Allison has been involved with Matchbox during her entire time in college and she has filled the position of editor in chief for the past year. She loves the entire, magical process of making a journal—which is what made her want to get involved with Stone Soup. This spring, Allison graduated from UC Santa Cruz. She plans to pack up her two rabbits and her ridiculous amount of used books and move to LA.
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Remember This “On the Way to School”
I used to not look forward to having to get up so early in the morning, get ready so quickly, eat breakfast in minutes and rush into the car starting in mid-August. The relaxing days of summer would be gone and replaced with studying and school. However, I recently watched a movie called, “On the Way to School” that showed me how lucky I am to have such an easy, five-minute drive to my school, and to even be going to school and have such a great opportunity for a great education. The movie focuses on four children that each have to walk more than 10 miles each day just to get to school on time, and their walks are not just straight, easy paths like a road or a sidewalk. Jackson, an 11-year-old, has to cross savannahs in Kenya filled with wild, angry elephants with his little sister twice a day. With her two friends, twelve-year-old Zahira must trek across more than 13 miles of rocky cliffs in the Moroccan Atlas Mountains to reach her weekly boarding school. Samuel, who is thirteen, but cannot use his legs, has to be pushed 2.5 miles by his younger brothers on a homemade wheelchair in eastern India in the morning and afternoon. And finally, Carlito, 11, rides eleven miles (on a horse) through the plains of Argentina with his younger sister the way to school and back. What amazed me was that these children, who are all around my age, walk these distances and face these dangers alone! Their parents pray for their safety before they go, and they all have friends or siblings accompanying them, but they are very brave to go on the journey by themselves. They all realize the importance of doing whatever it takes to go to school to learn. I cannot imagine doing the same thing any one of these kids does on a daily basis. When asked about what they want to be in the future, they all had inspiring replies. Samuel said that he would like to become a doctor so he could help fix other people with conditions like his. Zahira wants to travel to the villages around her school and persuade families to send their children to school so they can have the same opportunities as her. After watching this movie, I realized that when I complained about having to get up early and rush in the morning for school, it was nothing compared to what these kids had to go through to get to school as part of their normal routine. I felt grateful that I could safely sit in a car and ride with my parents to get to school each day for a 10 minute, not 10 mile, ride. So the next time you get annoyed for having to get up so early to ride in a car, take a bus, bike or walk a short distance o school, remember these four kids and how they must walk miles in dangerous locations just to get to their schools. We should all be grateful we have access to a good education and an easy path to it. If you want to find out more, you should watch the movie, “On the Way to School.” I highly recommend it if you want to watch an inspiring and motivating movie! “On the Way to School” (2015), DistriB Films. Directed by Pascal Plisson, written by Marie-Claire Javoy, Pascal Plisson.
Echo, Reviewed by Lin Lynn Tao, 13
Does music connect people like nothing else can? Pam Ryan’s book, Echo, shows the bonds tied together by a single instrument. In Echo, a harmonica journeys around the world, through countries and decades into the lives of three children. The harmonica aids each child in their battles, providing strength through the joys of music. For the first child, Friedrich, music makes him brave throughout his life’s misfortunes. Friedrich’s scarred face and flourishing hands earns him the nickname Monster Boy. However, he demonstrates true courage in character by ignoring the people trying to crush his spirit. He dreams of auditioning at the conservatory and becoming a famous conductor. On page 58, “Friedrich lifted an imaginary baton with his good arm and conducted… he too might have floated away on the wind, like a dandelion’s white-seeded parachutes.” Friedrich takes solace in music, finding it a comfort from the harsh treatment he receives at the hands of boys and officials alike. The second child, Michael, would do anything to protect his brother, and music helps him reach this goal. Each night, his worries for Frankie would envelop him “like an extra layer of skin.” At the orphanage, it is their talents in music that opens the door for their “adoption” by rich Mrs. Sturbridge. Mike’s hopes plummet after he learns that she adopts him and his brother for her own benefit and doesn’t plan on letting them stay. To secure a safe home for his younger brother, Mike bravely strike a deal with Mrs. Sturbridge. As he talks to her, “his breath shortened, but he patted his shirt pocket and felt a pulse of reassurance from the harmonica.” (p319). The harmonica helps him channel his love for Frankie from his heart to Mrs. Sturbridge’s, moving her deeply. Later, the love for music bonded Mike with Mrs. Sturbridge, and eventually ties them together as a family. This proves music helps Mike find and fight for the opportunities offered in life. The third child, Ivy, stands up to racism in several forms, and her love of music plays a crucial part. In Orange County of 1942, racism is worse than the other parts of the country. Latino children are forced to attend a separate school from the white children. Japanese children are “‘.. misplaced… their humiliation had to be ten times — a hundred times — worse.'” (p461) Ivy whole-heartedly agrees with her teacher Mr. Daniels that “music brings brightness to a dark world” (p466). Her teacher’s appraise to her music “fueled her optimism” (p470) and her courage. Ivy “closed her eyes, riding the notes until she was inside the song” (p530). Even when discrimination against Japanese people rages on, Ivy believes that the Yamamotos are good people. Music plays a primary role in persuading Ivy to be determined about fighting for the right thing. Music also teaches Ivy to be compassionate about other people’s feelings. The power of music helps people all around the world fight their battles, strengthening their spirits and giving them hope. Echo shows a few precise examples of the comfort music provides; Friedrich, facing prison yet seeking solace in Tchaikovsky’s no.1 opera, Michael, reassured by the harmonica in his pocket when making deals with Mrs. Sturbridge, and Ivy, recalling uplifting war ballads when facing racism. Intertwined by their love for music, the solos of these three children come together in harmony. There is nothing and no one who can stop music. Music overcomes time and people. Its power has no limits. Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan. Scholastic, 2015. 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!
