égalitariste (watercolor) by Verona Hofer, 12; published in the November/December 2023 issue of Stone Soup A note from Diane Landolf Dear readers, I hope those of you in the U.S. had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Now let’s all get ready for another kind of celebration! It’s our annual student reading, and everyone’s invited! On Saturday, December 2, at 11:00 am Pacific/2:00 pm Eastern, Stone Soup is hosting a virtual reading by students in our Stone Soup Writing Workshops. Join our student authors—along with their friends, family, teachers, and the workshop instructors—as they read their favorite pieces aloud. The online event is free, but a reservation is required. To reserve your spot and find out more about the reading, click here. If you participated in one of our workshops in 2023, we’d love to have you participate in the reading. Please submit the piece you’d like to read via Submittable under the category “Annual Writing Workshop Reading” by November 30. The maximum reading time per author is five minutes. We can’t wait to hear your work! Registration for our 2024 workshops will open soon, so check back for information about course offerings and how to sign up. With an open heart and a very full stomach, Register for our Annual Reading Submit your work to our Annual Reading From Stone Soup November/December 2023 Within the Stars by Mia Atkinson, 11 Olive didn’t know how long she’d sat on her bed staring at the stars. They were so bright that night, shining like thousands of little suns in the sky. It brightened up the window next to her bed, its paper-white curtain fully open. Olive sighed, a sound like a balloon deflating. She felt like that. Ten years ago, Olive had sat on this very bed, holding her breath and silently praying to the stars as her husband took his last breaths from a fever. They were too poor to pay for a doctor to come to their house, and going there would just take too long. That was when she lost her husband. That was when she became no one. That was when she became just an old woman with frail hands. Just. Olive wiped away a tear, staring at the full sky. The wind through the open window tickled her cheek as she stared out at the stars. She imagined that they were reaching out to her, glowing brightly. Her husband was up there too, waving at her and telling her that she would be all right, even though they both knew she wouldn’t. Not without him… Click here to find out what happens next. 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.
Thanksgiving
Bring on the Gratitude: A Review of “Be Thankful”
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I reviewed a poem about gratitude, called “Be Thankful” by an unknown poet. To me, gratitude means being thankful for what you have instead of thinking about what you don’t have. It is important to feel empathy for individuals who have less than you do and to appreciate all that you have. Everyone can be thankful for something–whether it be food, water, warmth, a house, or family. I chose the poem “Be Thankful” among a whole group of poems about gratitude because I was incredibly inspired by the message and tone of this poem. If you would like to read this poem, here is the link: https://blog.gratefulness.me/gratitude-poems/ “Be Thankful” is a 17-line poem divided into 7 couplets and ending with a three-line grouping. Though it doesn’t rhyme, it repeats the “Be thankful” phrase at the beginning of each stanza, helping emphasize to the reader the central theme of gratitude. The poem is intended to help readers recognize aspects of their lives that are challenging or hard, but nonetheless still could be positive and deserving of gratitude. One of my favorite parts in this poem is the stanza that reads: “Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire, / If you did, what would there be to look forward to?” This stanza highlights the emotion of envy, in which people yearn for things that they don’t have but that other people have. Envy is usually thought of as a negative emotion, but the poet suggests that one should be thankful for not having everything you want because it gives people something to look forward to. From this couplet, I thought about how to turn my jealousy into gratitude. Another one of my favorite parts is the fourth stanza that reads: “It is easy to be thankful for the good things. / A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are / also thankful for the setbacks.” As the holidays approach, it is easy to be happy for the things you have, but the poet emphasizes that people with challenges barreling towards them may be the most lucky because they have even more to be thankful for. In my opinion, this poem was a great kickoff to Thanksgiving, and it really helped me understand how to be thankful. Even if I don’t have everything, it is important to be thankful for what you do have – and if all you have right now are challenges, you can be thankful for those because they can make you better in the long run. I think people should read this poem with their family or friends on Thanksgiving to understand that everyone is a lucky person no matter what the situation is. Enjoy this holiday and time off as much as possible!