It must be very early, the light is just creeping sleepily up from behind the trees and rooftops Illustrator Rosemary Engelfried, 13 for On the Bridge of Dawn by Megan M. Gannett, 13 Published May/June 2004 A note from William Rubel At last, thanks to Emma and Sarah, the long-promised Book Reviews section of our website is here! What you’ll see on the page today is a small beginning to something we want to see grow. We’ve got lots more reviews to add, and we’ll be putting them up every day this week and into the future, so you will see something new popping up on a regular basis from now on. We want our Book Reviews section to develop into a lively place for Stone Soup readers to drop by and discuss the books they love (and even those they don’t!). If you love books and want to get some ideas of new ones to read, or hear what others thought of some you have already read, take a look, read the reviews, and leave your comments. Do you agree or disagree with the reviewer’s thoughts? Do you have something to add? Let us and the reviewers know what you think! And of course, do please keep on submitting your book reviews to us. Relating to others—thoughts from great novels and our bloggers For those of you who are following the news at all, or have talked with your parents about the many huge changes in the politics of the world taking place right now, I think you will probably have talked about how polarized politics has gotten in the United States and in many other countries around the world. We are tending only to talk to people who think the way we do, with less reaching out to people with whom we disagree in order to find common ground. I want talk talk today about Sarah Cymrot’s review of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, posted on our blog a few weeks ago. Like many of you, Sarah is in middle school. She is experiencing changes in the way kids (people) relate to each other compared with elementary school. What adult reading this Newsletter does not also remember those cliquish years? Which group were (are) you in, which group weren’t (aren’t) you in, how could (can) you make new friends? The Scarlet Letter is one of the major American novels of the nineteenth century. It is regularly taught in high school. I think it is fantastic that Sarah has taken this book on and has found that it offers some insights into middle school life. At the end of her post Sarah asks a question and invites readers to answer in a comment. I have left a comment, and now I am hoping that this weekend you will read the review—alone or with your parents or another adult—and will answer her questions too. Adults: the comments sections are open to adult readers, as well, and in this case I think the question is challenging enough to force all of us to think and to then struggle to find the words to answer. Sarah asks us to think carefully about how we relate to others: “Are there ways that you are judged by your peers? Are there ways you convince yourself to accept others in the face of feeling judgmental? Are there times you have reached across perceived differences and have connected with someone you didn’t expect to? I’d love to hear from you…” Go to her post, read her review, and then please continue the discussion by leaving a comment. It’s National Poetry Month! Did you know that April is National Poetry Month in the United States and Canada, and that in springtime in particular poetry is celebrated all over the world? Coming back from Taiwan last week my colleague Jane read a feature about poetry in the inflight magazine, written in celebration of national poetry month. I’d like to leave you with a few words from the article that express some of the ways we think about poetry here at Stone Soup, to inspire you both this weekend and for the rest of the month. “Love, warmth, and hope are all part of the April rhapsody. April is a never-ending love song. Come along with us as we experience the poetic side of April. In this warm spring month, take the opportunity to write poetry, recite poetry, sing poetry, discuss poetry and experience a poetic life.” (Dynasty, Inflight Magazine of China Airlines, April 2018, p. 22) We will share with you some of the work being done by our friends at the Academy of American Poets during National Poetry Month next week, and meanwhile, as ever, look forward to receiving your expressions of your poetic lives, whether they are written, painted, sung or recited!Until next week William From Stone Soup July/August 2015 The Five-Dollar Bill Written by Katherine Tung, 11 Illustrated by Aris Demopoulos, 12 “Stop Tiger from chasing Fluffy!” Mike Brady yelled as he charged headlong at his sons’ dog at his wedding reception. Tiger dashed under the wedding cake table and tipped it. The three-tiered cake slid along the table and into Mike’s arms. When Carol Brady hugged him for saving the cake, it toppled onto Mike’s face. This scene on TV sent my brother and me rolling on the carpet in fits of laughter. Ben and I relied on The Brady Bunch reruns to release frustration. We watched them every afternoon, since we spent our taxing schooldays proving to the mostly white student body that we were not mentally retarded, we just couldn’t speak English. After all, we came to the U.S. three months ago, knowing only how to say “hi.” I wanted to return to Taiwan, where I lived a Brady-Bunch life—wholesome and carefree, where each day ended with everyone happy. Mom yelled from the kitchen, “哥哥, 去市場 買一袋紅蘿蔔. 現 在就去!”1. She ordered Ben to buy a bag of carrots from the market, this instant. “我不要! 叫妹妹去,”2. Ben shouted back, refusing to budge and offering me a chance to go. Mom marched
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Last Stop on Market Street, Reviewed by Samuel Phillips, age 12
Despite being a picture book for young readers, Last Stop on Market Street, by Matt de la Peña, won the Newbery Award, a rare event that shocked the reading community. A picture book hasn’t won in ages and, because of this, no one in my class won our Newbery Medal guessing competition because we never saw it coming. But after reading it, I’m shocked that nobody in our class saw it coming, how I didn’t see it coming. CJ is a little boy, who is about to embark on a bus ride that will change his outlook on life. Every Sunday, after church, he and his Nana ride the crosstown bus down Market Street. The problem is that CJ wants to ride in a car, like his friends, instead of waiting for the bus in the rain and many other things that he can’t do because of lack of money. But Nana, old and wise, shows CJ the beauty of their world, even when parts seem dreary. Books aren’t just good because of the story they tell, but because they’re relatable to our own lives. I picked this book up after a trip to Portland, OR, a beautiful city dealing with a severe homelessness crisis. Because of this experience, I could see beyond Christian Robinson’s Caldecott-winning artwork. I could see Market Street, from the distinctive characters on the bus to the man pushing his belongings in a shopping cart down the street. I could smell it, the weird smells and the smell of fresh rain. I could hear it, the doors of the bus opening and shutting with cars honking in the distance. Most importantly, I could see it through CJ’s eyes, because he feels so real. So when CJ complained about his circumstances, I could understand his frustration, yet appreciate Nana’s wisdom and see where she was coming from. Last Stop on Market Street is great for many other reasons too. CJ is very realistic, as I said above. He asks questions that our generation of kids would ask in or out of that situation, such as, “Why can’t I have a IPod?” He whines and complains like many kids I know (me, again) and he uses slang, something that I often do, too. Another reason is Nana’s sage words. Her words are so poetic, fluid, and real. My favorite line of the book comes from her: “Sometimes when you’re surrounded by dirt, CJ, you’re a better witness for what’s beautiful.” She interacts in such an inspiring way with people that it makes you think differently about your own interactions. If all the awards and high praise haven’t convinced you to read this book, here’s some food for thought: Every city has its troubled areas, whether small, maybe like your city, or big, like Portland, OR. In this particular case, it’s Market Street. Now it’s not like CJ and Nana have to go to this part of town. Nana doesn’t care about their financial situations. She just wants to talk to these people and bring some kind of joy to their lives. We can learn from her actions and, if for nothing else, she is the reason to read this book. Last Stop on Market Street is a short, yet sweet book that everyone should read once in their lives. Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña. G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2015. 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!
Rooftoppers, Reviewed by Nina Vigil, age 10
Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell is my favorite book of all time. It’s an absolute must read for anyone who likes adventure, amazing details, incredible plots, and beautiful metaphors. The story is about a twelve-year-old girl, Sophie, who is being raised by a man in Victorian times. Charles finds Sophie, a shipwreck survivor, in a cello case floating in the middle of the sea. He raises her to be a smart, bookish, inquisitive girl—and allows Sophie to write on the walls and wear pants. The child authorities do not approve, to say the very least. So Sophie and Charles run away to Paris to find Sophie’s long-lost mother, who is believed to be dead. In Paris, Sophie meets Matteo and his band of rooftoppers, a group of kids who live secretly on the rooftops of Paris. The rooftoppers help Sophie in her quest to find her mother. The book has very complex humor. There’s the occasional piece of dialogue that I find rather funny. For example, when Sophie is saving some food for Matteo and she tells Charles that she’s stuffed, his reply is, “Really? You’ve already hidden your bread roll in your pocket. And if I’m not mistaken, there’s an apple in your sock. What are you stuffed with?” Charles has interesting ideas about life, for instance he says, “Organizations, Sophie, are much less clever than human beings. Especially when that human being is you. Remember that.” One of the best parts about the book is that I’m pretty sure we can all identify with at least one of the characters. Some of us are like Sophie, and believe in something nobody else believes in. Some are Charles, who love to read and have a unique outlook on life. Some are Matteo, who “do not want too much human in their life.” And some of us know a dreaded Miss Eliot, who inspects Sophie and Charles’ house and makes commentaries on how they live, and crushes Sophie by telling her that her mother is dead, time and time again. Rooftoppers rotates around multiple themes. One theme is the true meaning of love. Even though Charles isn’t technically Sophie’s parent, he still loves her like he would have had she been his own kid. He protects her and sacrifices for her even though they aren’t related. Another theme is perseverance. Even though everyone contradicted her, Sophie goes on believing that her mother is still alive, and is determined to find her. The rooftops of Paris play an important role in the story. Rooftops brought Sophie and Matteo together. Rooftops will lead Sophie back to her mother, if she is still alive. And, most of all, the rooftops are the place where Sophie has all her life-changing adventures. Every single time I read it, I want to be one of the characters. Rooftoppers is so well-written that I can’t stand not being able to experience the story for myself. I highly recommend it, and all the other books by Katherine Rundell. I guarantee you as soon as you read the first word, you’ll be hooked on the world of the rooftoppers. Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2013. 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!
