A Beautiful Abundance of Birds | Sophia Swanson, 11 (Novato, CA), published in Stone Soup November 2021 A note from Emma I’m so excited that in just a few days, Anya Geist’s novel, Born on the First of Two, which I selected as “editor’s choice” in our 2020 Book Contest, will be published! You can preorder it here, and you’ll be able to read the first few chapters in our December issue. As I read through the entries for last year’s contest, I knew I was in trouble. The pandemic has been a grim season for our country and the world, but those early lockdowns clearly created a pocket of time and space for so many of you to sit and work on a sustained creative project. I immediately knew I couldn’t pick just one winner and even choosing the two was incredibly difficult. But reading Anya’s novel simply sucked me into another world. It literally takes place in another world—a fantastical one with a land in the clouds, mysterious prophecies, special powers, and time travel—but its story also is a world. I was so invested in the characters that I remember spending some nights awake with my then-infant daughter, poring over my iPad to find out what was going to happen next. It is a gripping and moving fantasy adventure novel that I am so thrilled to share with you all. Please support Stone Soup and Anya by buying her wonderful book! From the many contributions she’s made to the magazine, to her work with us as an intern (which included co-teaching a summer workshop!), and finally, her book, Anya has been an integral part of the Stone Soup family and truly a valuable member of our team. Anya, we are so proud of everything you have accomplished; it has been a pleasure seeing you grow and progress as a writer, artist, thinker, and so much more! Lastly, I’d like to provide a second, gentle reminder that our annual open house is on Tuesday, November 30 at 4 p.m. PST / 7 p.m. EST. Everyone on our team will be sharing a few words, and we hope to hear from many of you about what Stone Soup has meant to you. We look forward to seeing you! I hope you had a warm, festive Thanksgiving holiday. Emma Other News Book Club On Saturday December 11, at 9 am Pacific/12 pm Eastern, Book Club will be hosting Lucy Worsley, author of The Austen Girls. Don’t miss out on a terrific opportunity to speak with a published author and sign up, here! Fall 2021 Workshop Reading Also on Saturday December 11, at 10 am Pacific/1 pm Eastern, we will be hosting our end of term event in which our students read aloud some of the incredible work they’ve written this fall. Please come and support our students by signing up, here! Highlights from the past week online Special Features Sabrina Guo introduced the Crossing Borders Pen-Pal Program, Direct Aid for Migrants via El Pueblo Nola, the establishment of Girl Pride Chapters like Girl Pride Samburu, the Ambassadors Scholarship Program, which supports girl’s scholarly endeavors, and asked that we join her foundation—Girl Pride International—in their next endeavors, all in conjunction with the Stone Soup Refugee Project! From Stone Soup November 2021 China is Left Behind By Alisa Zou, 12 (Concord, MA) I can’t stop myself From looking out there. Like something is Controlling my eyes, Pulling my head towards The airplane window Again and again Seeing America Below us. Ladies and gentlemen, Please go back to your seats and Fasten your safety belts. Thank you. Continue reading here… Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498. 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.
open house
Saturday Newsletter: November 20, 2021
Monochrome | Ashley Jun, 13 (Short Hills, NJ), published in Stone Soup November 2021 A note from William Firstly, congratulations to our Stone Soup editor, Emma Wood! Her most recent book of poems, The Real World, has just been published! Reading Emma’s poetry is a great way to get to know her better! In the same spirit that I ask you to support our young authors by buying their book, please support Emma by purchasing The Real World. You can pre-order it now. The book will be shipped to you on its official publication date. Open House Our second annual open house is on Tuesday, November 30 at 4 p.m. PST. Clicking on the date will add it to your calendar. This is your opportunity to meet our staff, ask questions, and share with people at the meeting. Everyone is welcome! Last year we had a good mix of students and adults attending. We look forward to seeing you! Until next time, Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at on our blog! Georgia, 12, wrote a review of Lucy Worsley’s novel The Austen Girls, which is this month’s featured novel for the Stone Soup Book Club. Mihika Sarkar Omachi, 12, published a brilliant comic strip about a trip she took to Bali with her family. From Stone Soup November 2021 The Mourning Dove By Meital Friend, 13 (Brooklyn, NY) There was a mourning dove sitting on our roof. Well, sitting might not be the right word. Most of the time, we say one word because a better word doesn’t exist. For example, if there was a word that meant there is a bomb whistling toward your family and all you can do is wait for the explosion which will ruin your life, then the nurse with purple lipstick would have said it, instead of just “I’m sorry.” And how do you receive an apology when you can never accept it, even if you pretend you can? Most of the time, people act like apologies are gifts the apologizer is giving to the person they’re apologizing to. But, looking at the shiny purple lips of the nurse, I wondered what to do with her apology. When you have a gift you don’t want, do you still have to write a thank-you note? I guessed you did. So, I just told the nurse, “It’s okay.” I think that was maybe the first lie in an avalanche of lies. Or maybe it wasn’t. But there was a mourning dove sitting on our roof. And the reason that I wasn’t sure that sitting was the right word, is that it wasn’t moving at all. Usually when people sit, they fidget, or move their head around if they’re a bird. But the mourning dove wasn’t moving at all. “Why won’t it move?” asked Aunt Jasmine, trying to pretend everything was normal despite the traces of tears on her cheeks that proved the opposite, looking up at the beautiful bird. It really was beautiful, with its gray-brown feathers with smudges of purple, and eyelids a brilliant blue green. But I didn’t want beauty. Or maybe I did. “Maybe it’s dead,” I said, in a voice that didn’t sound or feel like me. The words didn’t sound or feel like me, either. Continue reading here… Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498. 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.
