“Summer is over.” These are the first words of the haunting book Almost Autumn. But it’s not just summer that’s over. It’s life. Jewish lives. Almost Autumn takes place in 1942 Norway. Germany is in control, and they are beginning to round up all the Jews of the city. This is bad for the main character, Ilse Stern, and her family, who are all Jewish. It’s bad for Ilse’s friend, Hermann Rod, who’s working in the resistance. It’s bad for all of Norway. It’s bad for all of the world. I’ve always been interested in World War II, partly because I’m half Jewish. My ancestors died in the Holocaust. It doesn’t keep me from reading all about these horrible events, though. It’s gruesome, but it’s also interesting. Intriguing. I was especially drawn to the Jewish characters in this book. There were three main ones: Ilse, her father, Isak, and her sister, Sonja. Isak and Sonja are both taken to a concentration camp midway through the book, which was actually something I hadn’t seen a lot before. Most Holocaust books I’ve read were about the resistance or Jews hiding from the Nazis. Very few ventured into what it was like to be in a concentration camp. An interesting thing about Almost Autumn is that it was originally written in Norwegian, but translated into English. This makes the language even more strange and beautiful, but it’s not choppy or hard to understand. I actually didn’t find out that it was a translation until after I’d read the book, and it totally surprised me. One of my favorite things about this book was that it switched perspectives. There was Ilse’s perspective, that of a Jewish girl hiding from the Nazis; Hermann’s perspective, that of a boy empowered to resist; Sonja’s perspective, that of a girl holding her whole family together in the worst of times; Isak’s perspective, that of a man who could not save his loved ones. And, my personal favorite: the perspective of the Sterns’ neighbor, Ole Rustad, who is wracked with guilt over his work as a cab driver for the Nazis. Another thing was the beautiful description. Everything is metaphorical, representing something deeper. The language is beautiful and poetic. Marianne Kaurin has crafted a haunting and lovely book, telling five different closely entwined stories that perfectly blend together to create the work of art that is Almost Autumn. In conclusion, this book is one of the best I’ve ever read. It dives deep into many perspectives of the Holocaust, exploring each story with hauntingly beautiful language. If you are interested in the Holocaust and World War II, like me, this is the book for you. Almost Autumn by Marianne Kourin, translated by Rosie Hedger. Arthur A. Levine Books, 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!
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
The NBA Finals
Steph Curry and the Warriors look to beat the Cavs in the finals for the second straight year. In most sports, including the NBA, there is a playoff bracket that the the champion has to complete to win the title. In the NFL, you cannot lose a single game in order to win the Super Bowl. For the NBA, it is a 7 game series format. Team A (the one with the best record) plays at home for the first two games. Then Team B gets two games at home. Then after that, the games alternate. Whichever team wins 4 games first wins the series. While this has been the system for very long time, the NBA is thinking about changing its format to having a play-in bracket or picking the top 16 teams from either conference instead of 8 teams from each conference. The Western conference teams this year were better and more fun to watch than the Eastern conference teams. In the Western Conference, the ball swings around more and it is played at a faster pace, with 3 point bombs a common sight. In the Eastern conference, the game is played at a slower pace, often with the shot clock running down as opposed to the Warriors fast paced style. Around three years ago, the Golden State Warriors established themselves as the NBA’s powerhouse. They won 2 out of 3 championships and the one that they lost was a fluke. This Finals could go their way, or the Cavs could claim the NBA throne. The Houston Rockets finished the season in front of the Warriors in standings which caused many to think that the Warriors’ brief dynasty was over. Instead, they will be playing the Cavs in this year’s finals. The Warriors are the only NBA team that you can watch on TV when the score is tied, then take a 2 minute bathroom break and when you get back they are winning by 15. The Cavs will not be able to keep up with them. In Game 3 of the Warriors Rockets series, Steph Curry scored 18 3rd quarter points on 7-7 shooting. That will simply be too much for the Cavs. Expect the Warriors to win in 5 games, because of their lightning fast runs and great third quarters.
Help Protect Trees
“The Orchard in my Village,” by Gao Di, age 12, China. From our September/October 1997 issue. Trees bring so many amazing benefits to our lives. Unfortunately, people often ignore the presence of these tall plants that help us live, learn and so much more. Here are only some of those amazing benefits of trees: 1. Trees Benefit our Health You probably already know that trees produce oxygen for us to breathe in the process of photosynthesis (which converts light energy to chemical energy). Without trees or other plants that perform photosynthesis, humans would not be able to survive on this planet. However, trees have much more to offer relating to health. First of all, they can provide shade on a sweltering hot day. Cities that have no shade from trees can have temperatures up to 12 ℉ higher than areas with many trees! Trees can contain oils that are used as medicines. As an example, the oil from a birch tree has “antiseptic properties,” so it can be used to fight infections and other diseases. Furthermore, research shows being around greenery and trees can calm you down and actually decrease your heart rate! 2. Trees Benefit the Environment In my last blog, I talked about global warming and how it is changing Earth for the worse. But did you know that trees actually reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (a polluting greenhouse gas) in the air? They absorb carbon dioxide in their trunks, and this helps slow global warming. Trees also are home to and provide food for a number of species. In fact, according to The Royal Parks: “One mature oak can be home to as many as 500 different species.” Plus, trees store pollutants from the soil to make it cleaner and help prevent soil erosion, because their roots hold the soil in place. 3. Trees Benefit Homes and Neighborhoods Everyone has probably played on a tree in their life at some point—to climb up the strong, steady branches, to race around its enormous trunk, or to just sit under it and enjoy the calmness of the leaves swaying in the wind. Trees play a big part in helping children develop curious minds and just have fun! Plus, trees planted near neighborhoods can help communities grow by creating a setting for activities like bird-watching, hiking, and even planting new trees. At my school, we got to plant 5 new trees on the campus. This provided a fun experience that helped me learn many new things while improving our school grounds! Another way that trees benefit homes and neighborhoods is that they can diminish city noise from highways or airports near your home almost as well as stone walls. As well as abating unwanted noise, trees also beautify homes and backyards. In fact, having trees on your property can increase its price by 5-15%! I was really surprised at how trees help us so much in our everyday lifestyle. Unfortunately, the number of trees on Earth is slowly decreasing, and humans are the cause of that. Did you know that around 3.5–7 billion trees are cut down each year? Or that 100 trees are cut down every second in the rainforest? We need to be the ones to stop this horrible reality. After all, trees are one of the reasons we are alive today. Everyone, even kids, can make a difference by taking the initiative to protect them. Start by learning more about how you can help trees—just as they have helped us in countless ways.
