Image by Melody Ann Crespo via Creative Commons Review by Megan Li, age 10 Ever thought how it would feel as a kid to sell, manage, and earn money? Well, with BizTown, you can! Yeah, I know, this sounds like one of those commercials we all know, but seriously, you can! My class in 5th grade started it on February 1st, 2018. BizTown allows kids, or anyone, to manage money and learn how to save or spend it. Our teacher gave us all a “small” booklet that read BizTown on the front. There were all kinds of things to do inside, like how to endorse checks, definitions of different words or making a fake bank account. We learned what types of checks there are and you could be arrested for writing a check that pays more money then you have in your account. That’s called a bounced check. Later on, you get assigned a job and either you’re an employer or an employee. If you’re the boss you can decide whether to invest, spend, or save the company’s money. You get a checkbook and can write checks or deposit money. BizTown not only shows kids how to act responsibly with money, it also allows you to have fun with it. You can play games and buy fake stuff. For example, my class played a game where you could spend or save money and earn interest. You would answer 3 questions in a round. There were 3 rounds. If you got it right, you got 1 dollar. So if you got all of them right you would earn 3 dollars. The interest rate was 30 percent, of course fake. There was stuff you could buy from the shop, like candies, bracelets, or a watch. But you had to buy at least 3 things by the end of the game. The money you saved earned you interest and at the end we could see how much money we had. Of course, like any session or subject, there might be quizzes. Not always but sometimes. It’s not that hard though, you just have to know the definitions of some words, like checking account or debit card, or what someone should do if they want this or that, but it’s pretty easy. All in all, I think BizTown is an awesome program.
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
The Lost Property Office, Reviewed by Calla Champaneri, 11
For the past 13 years, John (Jack) Buckles has lived an ordinary life, with an ordinary family. Except for one thing. Jack sees things differently from other people. He can even see things that other people can’t, like ghosts and the past. Jack’s father goes missing and is pronounced dead on a “business trip.” Jack, his mother, and his 8-year-old sister, Sadie, rush to London searching for him. When Jack and Sadie are left alone in their hotel room and Sadie runs off, Jack follows her. The two end up in a mysterious building called, The Lost Property Office. The suspenseful, action-packed story that ensues is about friendship and never giving up hope. This book made me think of The Hunger Games Trilogy because of its unlikely heroes and strong-willed characters. It also reminded me of I am Malala, because no matter how many times Malala Yousafzai was told she couldn’t do something or was in danger, she never backed down. Now Malala is a huge role model to people everywhere. I like to run, and I do cross country at my school. I’m not amazing at it, and I can’t run 4 minutes miles, but that doesn’t stop me from trying. A couple months ago, I had a really big meet. I was a little nervous because I was running with kids that were older than me. I was tired, and about to just give up, but I heard my coach yelling, telling me to keep going. Despite the pain, I ran as hard as I could. I finished in 10th place, and beat almost 80 girls. Best of all, I got my first medal! What I experienced then reminded me of what the characters in the story were going through. If you feel like you don’t fit in, or like you don’t have the power to change anything, this beautifully written book will prove you wrong. Filled to the brim with clever plot twists and compelling characters, this story is sure to change the way you view the world, and how you see yourself. Although this book was written for young readers, I think that many adults would take something away from it as well. I would rate this book a solid five, and I definitely recommend it if you’re looking for an engaging novel that will have you eager to turn every page. The Lost Property Office by James R. Hannibal. Simon & Schuster, 2016. Buy the book here and support Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? If so, comment below!
The Book of Boy, Reviewed by Vandana Ravi, 11
Every kid has, at some point, wished for nothing more than to fit in. This is just the case with Boy, a young hunchback boy living in 1350, the year declared as a Holy Year by the pope of Rome. Boy is used to being an outcast from society – for no more reason than the lump on his back. He is daily called a monster, a fiend, or a devil’s companion, and accepts this as part of his identity. Father Petrus, the priest who christened him “Boy”, taught him the rules of life and ways to hide his differences. The Father is an important person in Boy’s vague, mysterious past. Boy has his own private life inside the bubble of loneliness that he is set in by everyone else. He is not completely alone, however, because he has the power of talking to animals. They accept Boy, for what animal would care whether a human stands straight or crooked when judging him for a companion? One chilly March day, a cloaked pilgrim shows up near Boy’s home. Impressed with the hunchback’s climbing and jumping abilities, he recruits Boy as a servant on a strange quest. The pilgrim, named Secundus, pulls Boy into a journey across Europe to collect seven valuable relics of Saint Peter – a rib, tooth, thumb, shin, dust, skull, and tomb. The pack in which Boy carries the relics hides his hump – so for the first time, he is treated normally. With great pleasure, he tells jokes to a brown-eyed girl and shares his joy with hounds on the street. Secundus and Boy journey from one holy spot to another. Tales of cripples dancing away from the shrine, dead babies coming to life, and sudden cures of incurable diseases pervade the minds of hopeful pilgrims around them. As the pair move, Boy begins to discover astonishing things about himself and his companion. Through the fast-paced, gripping action, tiny clues have been adding up. They finally point to the idea that Boy’s hump may not be a lump of evil, but a ball of divinity waiting to unfold its wings. And as for Secundus and his motives in collecting the relics – it is possible that he is the true fiend, though his body is not disfigured in any way. Bit by bit, Boy discovers just how far the magic of his hump extends; and realizes that if he keeps a confident smile on his face, he can do what he always wished to do – help people – without being labeled as either an angel or a monster. And with this, he fulfills his wish of being treated normally while staying the same person that he always was. I think that this book, though told in a medieval setting, really applies to modern day. Everyone is different. Although most kids have been told this many times, we still tend to single out the people who are very tall, very short, who have learning problems, who look different. We look at someone and judge them, forgetting hidden under everybody’s metaphorical disfigurement, there is a mind that thinks and feels just like we do. Everyone has, at some point, felt that they don’t fit into the norm. It’s hard to realize that our differences might actually be assets. When you are singled out or made fun of, it’s difficult to put a smile on your face and show the world that you may be different, but you have your own special powers. When you do, however, you are given wings for your personality to fly free. The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. Harper Collins, 2018. Buy the book here and support Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? If so, comment below!
