I feel the thrill of the moment as my coconut wobbles, surprisingly fast, past me Illustrator Ester Luna, 12 for Racing Coconuts by Rachel Barglow, 10. Published July/August 2015. A note from Emma Wood Announcing the winners of our short short fiction contest First Place: “The Pendulum” by Sabrina Guo, 12 Second Place: “The Sycamore Tree” by Mira Johnson, 8 Third Place: “A Dinner Party” by Anyi Sharma, 10 Fourth Place: “The Hummingbird” by Clare McDermott, 12 Honorable Mentions: Symbiotic by Madeline Pass, 13 Potato Diaries by Christian Goh, 10 The Mystical Trees by Hannah Lee, 10 A cat literally watching time pass. A magical tree that heals and protects an injured bunny being chased by a dog. A mysterious hermit who throws a lavish dinner party. A hummingbird whose light, joyful presence delights the whole forest. These are descriptions of the stories that won our short short fiction contest—and a very small sample of the range of stories we received. I was amazed, reading these submissions, at how much can fit into 300 words. Some of you chose to focus on describing a moment or scene in sparkling, clear prose. Others chose to tell an action-packed narrative. Both types worked, and both felt much longer than the word limit. Short short fiction, or flash fiction as it is also called, reminds me of a clown car: each story managed to pack in so much more than I thought possible. I want to directly thank everyone who had the inspiration to write a story and the courage to submit it to our contest. Your excellent, imaginative writing made our choices very difficult. We encourage all of you to continue writing and to submit your work to us again soon. Flash fiction is an excellent genre to work in, especially if you are new to writing fiction. Repetition is the mother of learning—and the shorter the story you are writing, the easier it will be to keep repeating and keep learning. Until next week Read the latest updates on our blog Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at stonesoup.com! This week, Sabrina Guo – who also happens to be our flash fiction contest winner! – has written a thought provoking, compassionate and informative article on The Refugee Children Crisis. Please read it and share your thoughts with her and with us on the website. From Stone Soup July/August 2015 Racing Coconuts By Rachel Barglow, 10 Illustrated by Ester Luna, 12 “Truth or Dare?” my best friend Jackson challenges me. I glance around at my circle of friends like they might have an answer. “Dare,” I say confidently. My friends and I always get together Saturday evenings. We’re gathered around a campfire eating marshmallows on a beach in Florida. Just then, Jackson grins wickedly at a tall palm tree with four coconuts cradled under its huge green leaves, and then back at me. “Simon—I dare you to a coconut race with me. Take it or leave it.” “I’ll take it,” I say, feeling my face turn red like it always does when I’m excited. Jackson and I know the drill. We each jog over to separate palm trees and shake them vigorously. When the tree gives up a coconut, I catch it as it falls. Jackson also gets a coconut. Then we drag our feet in the sand, creating one wide racetrack going for maybe twenty-five feet down a hill. The hill is steep enough to give the coconuts momentum. Jackson and I go to the starting line and bend down, the coconuts barely touching the ground. I feel the tense feeling of excitement in the air, my heart beating quickly. Everyone has their eye on our coconuts. A surfer shouts loudly to a friend in the distance. No one budges, no one hears. I will win this race. I will. “On your mark, get set…” Jackson starts, my heart beating even quicker. “On your mark, get set…” everyone cries, “Go!” …/more 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
Congratulations to our 2018 Short Short (Flash) Fiction Contest Winners!
First Place ($50): “The Pendulum” by Sabrina Guo, 12 Second Place ($25): “The Sycamore Tree” by Mira Johnson, 8 Third Place ($10): “A Dinner Party” by Anyi Sharma, 10 Fourth Place ($5): “The Hummingbird” by Clare McDermott, 12 Honorable Mentions: “Symbiotic” by Madeline Pass, 13 “Potato Diaries” by Christian Goh, 10 “The Mystical Trees” by Hannah Lee, 10 A cat literally watching time pass. A magical tree that heals and protects an injured bunny being chased by a dog. A mysterious hermit who throws a lavish dinner party. A hummingbird whose light, joyful presence delights the whole forest. These are descriptions of the stories that won our short short fiction contest—and a very small sample of the range of stories we received. We were amazed, reading these submissions, at how much can fit into 300 words. Some entries chose to focus on describing a moment or scene in sparkling, clear prose. Others chose to tell an action-packed narrative. Both types worked, and both felt much longer than the word limit. Short short fiction, or flash fiction as it is also called, reminded us of a clown car: each story managed to pack in so much more than I thought possible. We want to directly thank everyone who had the inspiration to write a story and the courage to submit it to our contest. Your excellent, imaginative writing made our choices very difficult. We encourage all of you to continue writing and to submit your work to us again soon. Flash fiction is an excellent genre to work in, especially if you are new to writing fiction. Repetition is the mother of learning—and the shorter the story you are writing, the easier it will be to keep repeating and keep learning. Congratulations to all of you, and especially to our winners and honourable mentions. Look out for publication of some of their stories on the website and in Stone Soup soon!
The Refugee Children Crisis
By Sabrina Guo, 12 Until reading the recent news headlines, you may have had the impression that the refugee crisis that occurred from 2015 to 2016 was over. However, as we are quickly learning, the refugee crisis is ongoing, and not just in the United States. There has been a sharp rise in the number of people going to Europe to claim asylum, and governments within the European Union (EU) have been trying to stop any movement of undocumented migrants with their countries. The EU has done many things to stop asylum seekers, such as closing legal routes, which leads refugees to take more dangerous routes with a higher level of dependence on people smugglers. This leads states to try to crack down on refugees even harder, and the cycle is exacerbated. Also, many refugees are stuck in refugee camps, while others struggle to start a new life in places they’ve already settled in. Even though many different countries have tried to stem the flow of refugees to their countries, there are still more and more people who are trying to flee persecution in their home countries by seeking asylum in European countries and the United States. Which leads me to my next point! Did you know that there are more than 65 million people in the world who have been forcibly displaced from their home countries? And that nearly half of all refugees are children? Almost half! So when we read about refugees, we’re often reading about kids our age or the age of our siblings, cousins, and friends. This got me thinking: what are some things that a refugee child might experience when trying to migrate to our country? Sometimes, on the news, it can sound like it’s a simple, fast process to immigrate to the United States. But as I read up on the issue, I found out that it’s far from easy or quick. For example, I read this article on the International Rescue Committee website (link below) that described—in easy to understand graphics—what one family had to go through to come to the U.S. from Syria. This family lived in a conflict zone, and after the father in the family was hit in the stomach by a stray bullet, the family registered their request to leave Syria with the UN. And then they waited for three years before they heard anything back. Three years! Can you imagine waiting to hear back about whether you could leave for three years? I think about the kids in that family. The article says the parents were very scared for their children’s lives in Syria. But on a more minor level—can you imagine living your life in limbo for that long? For example, these children must not have known they would stay in the same country as the friends they were making at school. After waiting for three years, the family finally heard back from the UN, and from there, it took about eight months of interviews and processing before they were vetted and could leave Syria for America. The whole process took nearly four years! The length and difficulty of the process really struck me. And then when once a refugee family or child gets to the U.S., there’s still the process of assimilation to go through, not to mention the pain of leaving other family members, friends, and an entire way of life behind in their home country. Once in their new country, refugees often face discrimination at school or in public. For example, many people across the globe think that Syrian people are terrorists, which is not true. Syrians are against ISIS, and they do not support them. ISIS is a criminal organization, and Syrian citizens are the ones that are truly paying the price. Many refugee children need psychological support because of having suffered through terrible circumstances in their home countries, including being separated from their parents and family because of conflict, having to travel hundreds and thousands of miles in unfamiliar surroundings without the protection of their guardians. Without any support, they are in danger of being abused, treated poorly, or physically harmed. These are just some of the ways that refugee children may experience trauma. Luckily, some schools in the US have already started some programs that will help create more friendly interactions between children with different backgrounds, and help them learn about each other’s cultures. There are also many other organizations, psychologists, and artists who are working with refugee children to help them make sense of their experiences and circumstances. Certain organizations, like Another Kind of Girl Collective, hold workshops for the children in refugee camps, helping them to express themselves and their experiences through art. Other organizations, like War Child, provide education and psychological care for children in conflict zones around the world. And there also plenty of organizations and opportunities to help with the current refugee crisis in the United States. I’m including a list of links below for any readers who would like to become involved and help kids our age. If I could say anything to the children coming over to the US, I may not fully understand your struggles, but I am trying to comprehend the many hardships you may face each day. I welcome you to America, and I hope that you will enjoy settling in here. I hope you find an America that is warm and supportive of you, and I hope you will like your new home with us. The process of coming to America (with easy to understand graphics): https://www.rescue.org/article/coming-america-reality-resettlement The vetting process to come to the US: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/29/us/refugee-vetting-process.html A UNICEF study showed that half of all refugees are children: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/sep/07/nearly-half-of-all-refugees-are-children-unicef-report-migrants-united-nations Types of trauma refugee children can undergo: https://www.nctsn.org/what-is-child-trauma/trauma-types/refugee-trauma The number of refugees there in the world: https://www.worldvision.org/refugees-news-stories/forced-to-flee-how-many-refugees-in-the-world Common myths about refugees: https://www.rescue.org/article/seven-common-myths-about-refugee-resettlement-united-states https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jun/05/five-myths-about-the-refugee-crisis https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-refugee-experience/201701/5-myths-about-refugees Ways you can help with the current refugee crisis in the US: https://www.texastribune.org/2018/06/18/heres-list-organizations-are-mobilizing-help-separated-immigrant-child/?utm_source=All+Volunteers&utm_campaign=0a7bde8aa8-Annual_Report_2016_General_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cf7b4c1f47-0a7bde8aa8-197492957 https://www.theyoungcenter.org/volunteer-at-the-young-center/?utm_source=All+Volunteers&utm_campaign=0a7bde8aa8-Annual_Report_2016_General_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cf7b4c1f47-0a7bde8aa8-197492957 A list of organizations that work directly with refugees: Mercy Corps:
