Perfect flying weather, especially for this trip Illustrator Amelia Jiang, 13, for Searching for Atlantis by Sonja Skye Wooley, 12. Published July/August 2016. A note from William Rubel Science Fiction Contest: Deadline April 1 Do you write science fiction? You have a little over five weeks to the April 1st deadline for our Science Fiction Contest. Another name for science fiction is “speculative fiction.” What if meat could be made in a factory so we wouldn’t need to kill chickens, pigs, and cows to eat the meat we like? How might that change the world? In fact, lots of work is being done by scientists to grow meat in factory laboratories. So, it isn’t necessarily a wild science fiction fantasy. What if cars could drive themselves? Then what? What would that world look like? Well, lots of people would be out of a driving job! And as the driverless cars might be operated like a taxi company, or like Uber, most of us might end up just calling for a car when we need one. If we did that, then there wouldn’t be so many (or any) cars parked on streets. There would be too many parking lots so we could do something else with them. What would our lives be like? What kind world—good or bad—might you imagine with driverless cars? Everything you know about science and technology can be brought into the creation of a speculative fiction story. The is your chance to explore, “What if?” Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, just launched a powerful rocket. It is now already possible to imagine affordable rocket transport to the moon and to Mars. Well, what would that mean for us here on Earth? Would it make a difference? On Earth we have lots of trouble living peacefully all together. Could we make our space colonies reflect the best of who we humans are? Or, do you imagine that we’d mess up our space exploration, too? The Star Wars stories imagine a technologically advanced time in which fighting over power and control are still central to the story of advanced cultures, like ours. Is that what you imagine, too? Use what you know of science and technology to explore possible futures. I’ll remind you in a couple of weeks. You have five weeks, starting now. Giving Refugee Children a Voice What are we working on this week? We are beginning work on a project of publishing writing and art by refugee children. The idea is to offer the Stone Soup platform to give refugee children all over the world a voice and a creative outlet. Is this something you’d like to get involved with? If you do think you might be interested in helping with this project, then please read our introduction on our website, and get in touch with us. There is room for kids as well as adults to help with this. Books books books! We are continuing to develop our ideas for a Stone Soup Book Club, working with a major publisher on some of the details. So far, we have been discussing how to get free copies of books to our subscribers and future members of our Book Club; and thinking about how to organise discussion events with some of your favourite authors. There is some work to do on the website to make it all possible, which is getting started next week. We hope this sounds exciting–we think it does!–and we’ll have more news on the Book Club very soon. Until Next WeekWilliam From Stone Soup January/February 2001 Life Without You By Laberije Shala, 12 Art by Florije Bobbi, 12 You were loved, sweet, Always smiling When I needed you, You left. You gave me the name orphan, You gave me a black shadow, Life without you has no sense. Now, in your best years, Black soil covers you. O my Daddy On your grave There are roses It’s me who put them there Your orphan My Daddy A life without you. You can read more about these works by children from western Kosovo at our website; and please consider supporting and getting involved with our project, Giving Refugee Children a Voice.
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Giving Refugee Children a Voice
Turkish Aircraft Bombing Cyprus by Frosoula Papeptrou, age 6. This image was made shortly after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. There are millions of children who have escaped from war zones and are now living in refugee camps, or as refugees in countries far from their homes. We, at Stone Soup, would like to begin offering space on our website, and in Stone Soup, our magazine, for writing, art, and photography by refugee children. Our goal is to build a powerful collection of creative work by kids ages 13 and under to speak on behalf of the millions of children whose lives have been upended by uncontrollable violence. We are looking for people who want to help us make this project a reality: people who have time to spend contacting organizations; people who are already working in an NGO that works with refugee children; and people who might be willing to offer some financial support for the project. If you would like to help us with this initiative, then please get in touch with Sarah Ainsworth by email. You can write to her at sarah@stonesoup.com. Thank you. William Rubel for Children’s Art Foundation & Stone Soup Magazine
5 Reasons to Birdwatch
Birdwatching is pretty popular. You might see lots of people walking around with binoculars or cameras, looking at birds. Some put up feeders in their backyards. People can even become professional bird scientists! Have you ever wondered why people watch birds? Here are 5 reasons to birdwatch: 1. Birds are beautiful. With their smooth and colorful feathers, birds stand out from the rest of nature. Some are graceful, some look funny. Birds are so varied. If you think all birds are brown or gray, think again! Birds are all the colors of the rainbow, from a brown sparrow to a rainbow-colored painted bunting. And you can see them almost any time you want! Look out your window the next time you are bored, and see if you can spot a bright red cardinal or a blue jay. 2. Birds have interesting behavior. Have you ever seen a chicken pecking at the dirt, or a sparrow taking a dust bath? What about a vulture ripping up a carcass? All birds do something, or nobody would care about them. If you look, you can see birds being weird or funny, graceful or creepy. It just takes a step out of the house to catch a glimpse of them. A flock of birds having a pool party in your backyard birdbath could make your day. 3. Birdwatching is a fun challenge. Did you know you can make a list of all the birds you have seen? It’s called a life list. You can also try to see all the types of birds that live in your state! It’s a fun challenge. Or just keep a notebook of the birds you see and draw or write about them. 4. You can study them closely. If you like learning new things, you can learn a ton of stuff about birds by observing them and learning more about them online and in books. You could write down the tiniest details about birds in your backyard, or find out fun facts on a website. You could even become a ornithologist, or bird scientist, when you grow up. It’s up to you! 5. It’s something to do besides play video games all day. Does your mom tell you to stop watching TV and do something else? Well, why not birdwatch? It just takes a look out the window. If you want to pick it up a level, make a bird feeder or start a birdwatching notebook. As you can see, there are some great reasons to birdwatch. If you start birdwatching, you can discover more reasons! In my next post I will tell you how to get started watching birds.
