Weekly Flash Contest #7: Be a time traveler in reverse! What would happen if a character from the past arrived in the present? Choose a time period you like and know a little bit about, and write down at least 3 things that make it really different to now. Now imagine that someone your age and your gender has arrived in your house from that time in the past. Use your list of differences to write a story about what happens during the day you spend together. The week commencing May 11th (Daily Creativity prompt #36) was our seventh week of flash contests, with another record number of entries including one from our youngest-ever Flash Contest entrant! We had fun meeting time travellers from different eras from ancient history (even dinosaurs!) to the present (yes, some time travel was projected into the future–it’s complicated!), and it was even harder than usual to choose our favourites. We commend all of the entrants for their imagination, and for the creative ways they found to bring their characters from the past into life in the present using clothes, language and misunderstandings about contemporary everyday life to make them real. This week, we are announcing our 5 Winners, whose work is published below, plus 5 Honorable Mentions. Congratulations, everyone! Winners (work published on this page) Isabel Bashaw, 10, Enumclaw, WA Samson Brown, 12, Cary, NC Ava Shorten, 10, Mallow, Ireland Michela You, 11, Lexington, MA Xuyi (Lauren) Zheng, 10, Guelph, Ontario, Canada Honorable Mentions “The Time Watch” by Hannah Nami Gajcowski, 10, Bellevue, WA “Lace, Frills, and Clever Jokes” by Samantha Lee, 10, Thomaston, CT “Prehistoric Visitors” by Sean Tenzin O’ Connor, 4, Bishop, CA “Panic From the Seventies” by Lauren Oh, 12, Cary, NC “A Dose of Time” by Ella Yamamura, 12, Cary, NC Remember, we are running the Flash Contest every week during the COVID-19-related school closures and shelter-in-place arrangements. It is always based on the first Daily Creativity prompt of the week. The prompt is posted on Monday, entries are due by Friday, and the winners are chosen and announced the following week. Isabel Bashaw, 10 Enumclaw, WA My Weekend With Jane Isabel Bashaw, 10 My name is Isabel, and this weekend, the craziest thing happened to me. I don’t know where to start, but I’ll begin on Friday night, when everyone was in bed . . . * * * “Hoo Hoo Hoo . . .” I was awakened in the middle of the night by an annoying owl outside my bedroom. And since I was up, I decided to have a snack. I crept downstairs, so as not to wake anyone up. I grabbed two peanut butter cookies and a tall glass of milk, then I went back upstairs to eat at my desk. I munched on a cookie, then gulped down some of my creamy white milk. After I had finished, I clambered back in bed, and tried to sleep. But after five minutes, I was startled by a green orb hovering over my pillow. I leapt under my covers in fear. When I looked up, the green orb was shaking violently. I tried to move, but I felt stuck to my bed. Finally, the orb stopped shaking, and a girl fell out of it, and landed on top of me. “mff gt off of e!” I said, muffled under the weight of the mysterious girl. “Sorry!” she said, and climbed down from my bed. “What the heck?!” I yelped, rubbing my eyes. This girl looked like a pioneer. She was wearing a bonnet, a shabby dress, and was super tan. Her barefoot feet smelled terrible! “What is this house? It’s so pink!” said the girl, walking around. “It’s not a house, silly! Its my bedroom,” I said, eying her. “WOW!” She cried, and started jumping all over the place. I heard footsteps coming up to my room, and quickly told the girl: “get under my covers, and stay there. Be super quiet, too.” She obeyed me, and then I started jumping until the door swung open and my dad walked in. “What are you doing up here? It’s 4:00 in the morning, Isabel. Stop jumping around! You’ll wake the baby!” He looked around. “Who said wow?” I quickly came up with a fib. “I was singing a song! WOW! I am a star, la la la la WOW!” I sang, with an offbeat tone. Clearly my dad didn’t buy my act. He went up to my bed, and pulled up the covers, where the girl had fallen asleep. “What!? Did I say you could invite a friend over to play dress up in the middle of the night?!” he barked, then walked back to me. “Sorry Dad.” I whispered. “Just don’t wake anyone else up again, ‘K?” he said, his eyes softening. “Okay, ‘night dad.” I said. Then he walked out of the room, and the girl leapt out of the bed. “My name is Jane, by the way, and an hour ago I was in my log cabin, when this lady appeared in front of me and told me that I was allowed to go forward in time to see the future for 24 hours. I said okay, and the next thing I know I am falling onto a stranger’s bed, and that’s the whole story basically.” I was shocked, and not entirely convinced. “When is your birthday?” I asked, suspiciously. “May 23rd, 1845” she said in a split second. “I still can’t believe that this is just one room!” “Well,” I said, “I guess you can hang out with me for 24 hours. So, what’s it like, being a pioneer?” “Is that what people call us? Well, I sew mittens, hats, and socks, but I mean everyone does that. I also help mama stir the beans, and make cornbread. I churn the butter, and milk our cow Besie, and care for her calf Beanie. I also harvest crops from our garden, and I love to play
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Flash Contest #6: Draw or Paint a Scene From a Book You Are Reading. Our Winners and Their Work!
Weekly Flash Contest #6: Draw or paint a scene from a book you are reading, or have read. Anya Geist, 13Worcester, MA The week commencing May 4th (Daily Creativity prompt #31) was our sixth week of flash contests–and our second Takeover! This time, Anya Geist, age 13, from Worcester, MA, took over the Daily Creativity prompts for the week, including some really great art prompts as well as some writing ideas. As always in our takeover weeks, Anya joined the Stone Soup team as one of the Flash Contest judges. To remind you of the process–each judge evaluates the entries independently, the judges’ scores are tallied, and we meet via Zoom to agree on our final lists of winners and honorable mentions. There were a lot of entries this week, and a large number of really beautiful artworks for us to look at. Luckily the judges had very similar views when they awarded their scores, so it wasn’t too difficult to agree on the results (though we can’t say it was all that easy with such a lot of great work to choose from!). Anya had set you a great challenge, and she had some very considered and insightful feedback on the entries. It was a real pleasure to work with her on this contest. Thank you, Anya! This week, we are announcing our 5 Winners, whose work is published below, plus 5 Honorable Mentions. We were so impressed by the different media used, and the creative approaches you all took. Congratulations, everyone! Winners (work published on this page) Analise Braddock, 9, Katonah, NY Anna Dollar, 13, Monticello, FL Catherine Gruen, 13, Chino Hills, CA Olivia Titus, 11, Houston, TX Elia Yamamura, 12, Cary, NC Honorable Mentions Sienna Olsen, 9, Tauranga, New Zealand “Albus Dumbledore” from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling Yincheng Qian, 12, Dallas, TX “First View of Hogwarts” from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling Ava Shorten, 10, Mallow, Ireland “Joey, exhausted, frightened and wounded” from War Horse by Michael Morpurgo Zoe Campbell, 10, San Francisco, CA “Then Percy let go of his tiny ledge, and together, holding hands, he and Annabeth fell into the endless darkness” from Heroes of Olympus: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan Amelia Barth, 10, Elgin, IL “The Beginning of the Armadillos” from Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling Remember, we are running the Flash Contest every week during the COVID-19-related school closures and shelter-in-place arrangements. It is always based on the first Daily Creativity prompt of the week. The prompt is posted on Monday, entries are due by Friday, and the winners are chosen and announced the following week. A Hogwarts interior, from Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling Analise Braddock, 9, Katonah, NY “With a small leap she was on Jeremy’s back” from Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien Anna Dollar, 13, Monticello, FL The picture I painted is a close up scene from chapter 7 of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM by Robert C. O’Brien which is titled “The Owl”. During this chapter, Mrs. Frisby must board the back of Jeremy the crow. That was easy, for as Robert C. O’Brien put it, “With a small leap she was on Jeremy’s back.” The rest of the adventure she would go on with Jeremy was much more challenging and frightening than this “small leap”. But you shall have to read the rest of the tale of Mrs. Frisby if you wish to know why. “Wingardium Leviosa” from Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling Catherine Gruen, 13, Chino Hills, CA “Wingardium Leviosa!” he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill. “You’re saying it wrong,” Harry heard Hermione snap. “It’s Wing- gar -dium Levi- o -sa, make the ‘gar’ nice and long.” “You do it, then, if you’re so clever,” Ron snarled. Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, “Wingardium Leviosa!” Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.’ This famous scene between Ron and Hermione, before they became friends, is from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (or Philosopher’s if you’re from England) by J. K. Rowling. “Escape from Ravagog” from Neverseen by Shannon Messenger Olivia Titus, 11, Houston, TX This scene is from Neverseen, the fourth book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Sharon Messenger. The characters in the piece are escaping from the ogre city, Ravagog. “Self Betrayal” from “The Eagle and the Arrow” by Aesop Elia Yamamura, 12, Cary, NC This is a drawing based on a tale of Aesop named “The Eagle and the Arrow”. The eagle is flying over its home, and is suddenly pierced by an arrow feathered by the eagle’s own down. Moral: we often give our enemies the means for our own destruction.
Flash Contest #5: Stories Inspired by Funny Newspaper Headlines: Our Winners and Their Work!
Weekly Flash Contest #5: Write a story inspired by one of these funny headlines Visit the Bestlifeonline.com webpage, and read their selection of the “25 Funniest Newspaper Headlines of All Time.” Write a story inspired by your chosen headline. Every week during the COVID-19-related school closures and shelter-in-place arrangements we are running a Flash Contest, based on the first Daily Creativity prompt of the week. The prompt is posted on Monday, and entries are due by Friday. The week commencing April 27th (Daily Creativity prompt #26) was our fifth week–and our funniest! Everyone obviously needed to get some comedy into their lives, and we had a record number of entries. We enjoyed reading each and every one of them, but a few of them made all of us laugh out loud, so they are our winners this week: published below, they come in every shade of humour from light to dark, and they are all hilarious. We also have a few Honorable Mentions singled out for special recognition. Congratulations, everyone! Winners (work published on this page) Eliana Aschheim, 13, Santa Clara, CA Gabe Finger, 13, Nesconset, NY Hannah Nami Gajcowski, 10, Bellevue, WA Liam Hancock, 12, Danville, CA Alice Xie, 12, West Windsor, NJ Honorable Mentions “An Un-MOO-rited Act” by Lena Aloise, 10, Harvard, MA “Diary of a Goat Robbery – From the Goatś Perspective” by Cora Casebeer, 10, Salem, OR “The Scientist Who Blamed the Babies” by Samantha Lee, 10, Thomaston, CT Remember, we are running the Flash Contest every week during the COVID-19-related school closures and shelter-in-place arrangements. It is always based on the first Daily Creativity prompt of the week. The prompt is posted on Monday, entries are due by Friday, and the winners are chosen and announced the following week. Farmer Using Cannon to Protect Watermelons By Eliana Aschheim, 13 It was a typical summer morning and everything a summer morning should be: bright and sunny, with no cloud in sight for miles around. Josh Smith looked out his kitchen window to the farm and nodded. It was going to be another perfect day. “Good morning, Josh,” his younger brother Andy greeted him, coming into the kitchen. It seemed like only yesterday that Andy had been ten years old, and Josh twelve, running around in the woods and swimming in lakes. “Hey Andy,” Josh said, barely glancing at him. Now they were much older, decades older, in fact. Andy was forty-seven and Josh was approaching–well, he tried not to think about that. Fifty was an age too old to date anyone, said his late parents–may they rest in peace. And his little Andy had never found anyone that liked him back, poor guy. So they were just two old bachelors puttering around in a house meant for a big family. Andy being single was kind of his own fault, really. Anyone remotely interested in him was scared off by his impressive, almost obsessive collection of Civil War artifacts. Truth was, Josh thought it was a waste of time. Who even cared about preserving and documenting that stuff to that extreme level? Andy did, apparently. He had been collecting since he was only a boy. His room was overflowing with Civil War things. It had started with just a shoebox under the bed, but then it expanded to a whole drawer. Their parents had tried to stop the inevitable flow, but when Andy got the cannon there was just no going back. Civil War-related books spilled off shelves, and old parts of weapons lay filling countless boxes stacked up on the floor. The entire room was now devoted to the cause. But in spite of all the parts Andy owned, no weapon worked–except for maybe the cannon. He took it out for polishing every week, but no one knew if the old thing could still shoot. Whenever Andy brought the cannon out, Josh always felt anxious, worried that it would blow the house to smithereens. The house was centuries old, and deeply rooted in tradition. Sure, there had been a few changes over the years (namely adding and renovating the electricity and plumbing systems) but it was still the same old house, with the same walls and tables and chairs. Josh and Andy had grown up in this house, the last kids of their strand of Smith. But probably the very central component, the most integral part of the house, lay outside. It was the watermelon patch. That patch had been there when construction on the house first started, or so went the family legend. It had withstood frightening tornadoes and insect infestations, deadly droughts and even economic disasters. And because of those things, that watermelon patch was considered sacred. The watermelons it produced were said to be the finest, sweetest, juiciest ones for miles around. Josh helped himself to a cup of coffee and went over to the living room. He turned on the T.V. to watch the news. “Breaking news,” crackled the announcer, “Video gamer Rory Fasloughn, popular on the video game streaming network uPow, made a stand against watermelons. Hundreds of children have taken to eagerly following his wishes, rampaging across the county, leaving watermelons uprooted and cruelly destroyed in their wake. Here’s a clip.” Josh gaped at the screen. Children pillaging farms under the command of a video gamer? Really? On screen, a video of Rory Fasloughn was playing. “I mean, they have water and melon. A liquid and a solid. How can something be a liquid and a solid at the same time? Choose one, people. I hate it. Watermelons should be banished from the planet.” Disgusted, Josh turned off the T.V. Banish watermelons? What was this Fasloughn guy saying? And people were actually taking him seriously? Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. “Andy?” Josh said. Andy was still in the kitchen, toasting some bread. “There’s this thing on the T.V. Some kids are trying to destroy our watermelons,” Josh told him, putting on his shoes. “Our watermelons?” Andy clarified, “Why would people want our watermelons?”
