A Light to Hope By (pastel) by Leticia Cheng, 10; published in the November/December 2023 issue of Stone Soup A note from Tayleigh Greene Dear readers, As a kid, I remember spending entire days of winter break curled up reading by the light of a lamp not unlike the one so beautifully drawn by Leticia Cheng, 10, pictured above. These days, it’s rare that I have the opportunity to devote several hours in a row to reading; the many to-do’s of adulthood keep me busy. By the time you read this newsletter, I will have flown from my current home in Houston to my childhood home in California, to spend time with my mom, dad, and three brothers. I am so looking forward to being there with them, and I’m also looking forward to the “getting there.” I love flying because I have the rare chance to read without distractions, no chores to take care of, no internet. This holiday break, I hope you, no matter what age you are, devote some time to the simple pleasures that we tend to neglect, like curling up with a good book—or the latest issue of Stone Soup. If you’re not yet subscribed to Stone Soup, I am so excited to announce that we’re offering 50% off print + digital annual subscriptions for a limited time only. Enter the code happyholidays! at checkout to save on the magazine 100% written and illustrated by kids. This is an incredible deal; a sale of this scale won’t be offered again for a while. So, if you’re in need of some last minute gifts for the kids or educators in your life, there’s no better present, and no better time than the present. Looking ahead to 2024, I’m pleased to share that we’re offering an all new fiction writing workshop with long-time Stone Soup instructor Conner Bassett. Fiction Writing: Six Beginnings, Three Middles, and an End will meet Saturdays, January 27 through April 6, 2024 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Pacific time. Tickets are selling quickly, and space is limited, so I encourage you to register as soon as possible to secure your spot. Warmest wishes, P.S. As 2023 comes to a close, so does our Annual Drive. If you’re able to, please donate today using the button below and help us empower kids to be the authors of their own stories. Purchase a Gift Subscription Register for Writing Workshops Support Stone Soup 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.