Thank you,

William

Angela’s story falls into the long and great tradition of tales of the fantastic. In tales of the fantastic everything is normal – almost. But this “almost” takes us to strange and even frightening worlds. The fantastic elements are not there just to scare or disturb us; they are there to challenge the characters. As we read how the characters respond to strange and unexpected challenges, we learn something about them, and, if we think about it, we can often learn something about ourselves as well.
John sees something out of the ordinary. He sees a girl sitting in an open field with a crow on her head. She is talking to the crow. What is his response? John’s response is hostile. He is threatened by what he sees. No, he isn’t in any physical danger. But in a deep way the girl and the crow threaten him – the way a bully blocking his path might. Think about it. Why is John so upset by what he sees? What does this tell us about John?

Project: Write a Story in Which the Fantastic Exists Alongside the Normal
The fantastic element, whatever it is – a ghost, the appearance of the past or future within the character’s normal life, a strange force or power, should pose a problem for your main character. The girl and  the crow pose a problem for John. It is a problem that John does not understand. What a different story this would be if John had been curious. If he had not been afraid. If he could have gone up to the girl and spoken kindly to her and to her crow!
When planning your story, think of a setting that is ordinary. A regular house.  A regular school. A regular city. A regular family. The appearance of the ghost, the past, the future, the animal with knowledge, the friend who turns out to have a special power, will seem all the more amazing for being placed, as Angela’s girl and crow are, in what otherwise seems like our normal world.

People of the Crow

by Angela Della Sala, age 11

Mountain View, Hawaii

Gale and John stepped into the musty old cedar house. The floor of the one hundred and fifty year old house creaked beneath their feet. Dust puffed out from the cracks as they walked. “This place smells,” complained Gale..

“Of course, what do you expect from a hundred and fifty year old house!” yelled John.

“Shut up or you’ll loosen the nails and the whole house will fall on us!” hissed Gale. Gale Ramsden and her cousin, John Harris, were visiting their grandparents in Cranford, New Jersey. Gale was a very careful person and very neat. John, on the other hand, was the opposite. He wasn’t very clean and loved to make trouble. Especially to Gale.

“Yodel le hee hoo!” John yelled as loud as he could. Gale was so quiet and concentrated that she nearly jumped out of her skin. She knew that if she pestered him about being quiet that would just encourage John more. But still she wanted to give him a piece of her mind. She walked up to him and whispered to him that if he didn’t shut up, she would punch his lights out. That didn’t work. “Don’t talk too loud!” yelled John.

“John,” Gale screamed, “you are so sarcastic!” At that moment Gale didn’t care whether or not the house fell on her.

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but little Gale will not!” He sounded like a pre schooler sucking his thumb. Gale’s face was getting red with anger. She stomped out of the house and slammed the door in John’s face. She almost wished the house would fall on John. She decided to explore the woods behind the house. Gale called John to come with her. They walked around looking at plants and animals that were new to them.

They usually separated while exploring places, so by this time they weren’t even in seeing distance. Gale was so absorbed in the plants that she almost didn’t hear a distant yell. “Gale! Gale!” She knew right away that it was John.

She looked up and saw hundreds of black birds circling above one particular place. That must be where John is, Gale thought, since he was always in trouble. She made her way through the thick brush and looked up once in a while to see if she was going in the right direction.

She finally reached her destination and found that John was there. “What’s the matter?” she asked.

“Look,” said John flatly, pointing to the spot under the circling birds. A young girl, about Gale’s age, was sitting in the middle of a large opening.

Perched on her shoulder was a huge black bird. A crow. John always had to know everything so he didn’t waste any time stepping out into plain sight into the middle of the opening.

“No!” Gale hissed. But it was too late. The first sight of John sent some crows on the ground squawking and flying in all directions. The girl, who seemed to be meditating, looked up suddenly.

“Hey, what’s the big idea?” she said.

“What’re you doing?” John was annoying that way; he never answered your questions, just asked them.

“Talking to the crows,” she answered calmly.

“Ha ha! That’s a laugh!” By now Gale was stand ing next to John.

“That happens to be true.” The voice came so suddenly that John jumped back a few feet.

“It. . . that. . . animal. . . talked, ” John stammered.

“So?” the girl said. “Crows happen to be very intelligent animals.”

“Make it say something else,” John commanded.

“No,” said Gale.

“You can’t make them talk,” the girl explained. “They talk whenever they want to.”

“Sure, I knew that!” said John, the smart aleck.

Gale hiccuped. “Right, ” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Would you believe it?” the girl asked suddenly.

“What?” asked John.

“I’m about to tell you something that I’ve kept secret all my life.”

“What?” asked Gale, curiously.

“I’m a. . . ,” she sighed, “. . . a witch.” The color dropped from Gale’s face.

“Yeah, sure!” yelped John. He laughed so hard that he fell to the ground and had to hold his stomach to keep it from bursting.

The girl had to yell over his laughing, “I’ll prove it to you.”

“I believe you!” yelled Gale. To tell you the truth,

she really didn’t know if she believed her or not. John stood up and wiped off his sleeves.

“How?” he asked.

“I’ll put a curse on you, that’s how!”

“Go ahead, see if I care. Probably won’t even work!” John gave a loud “Hah!” to end his sentence.

“We’ll see about that, smarty!” the girl remarked. She closed her eyes and concentrated hard.

“What a dweeb!” John yelled. “Meditating!”

“Shhhhhhhhhh!” hissed Gale.

“So, you actually believe this junk?” John said. The birds came again, circling above them. Gale was the first to notice, then John. They stared at the sky when finally the girl came back to normal.

“There,” she said.

“What was the curse?” asked Gale curiously.

“Gale!” yelled John.

“Sorry,” mumbled Gale.

“May your feet grow so big that you’ll have to wash them in a pool!” the girl yelled.

“Whhaaaat?” John said. “That’s all?”

“Yes, think of all the problems you’ll have.”

“Yeah, new shoes,” answered John.

“And odor,” muttered Gale under her breath. “C’mon,” she said, tugging at John’s jacket.

“O.K.” he said. He swerved around and started home.

“Bye,” said Gale, but the girl had disappeared. She ran to catch up with John. He looked away and snorted.

The next morning Gale woke up bright and early.

She shook the top bunk to wake up John. He finally woke up with a loud groan and dangled his big feet over the edge of the bunk. Big feet! Gale stared in horror. Had the curse that the girl with the crow put on John really worked?

She watched as John climbed down from his bed and tried to slip on his shoes. Lucky thing he was half asleep or he would’ve thrown a fit. Gale wasn’t about to tell him. She just stared at his feet as he dragged them down the stairs. A couple of minutes later she heard him call. “Gale,” he yelled, “break fast!” She pulled herself up slowly off her bed and stumbled down the steps. She sat down wearily, as if nothing was wrong. She was going to spill the beans when she got outside. But she also wanted him to find out by himself, when she wasn’t around.

After breakfast she rushed outside to the back of the house. She hesitated in front of a bunch of pine trees. She had to find the girl, if she was still there. John was right on her trail, again. Gale started off toward the opening. She wasn’t really used to the woods since she was a city girl. Still, she went on, but slowly, so as not to rip her new shirt. Finally she found the opening, and the girl was still sitting there, with the crow on her shoulder. She tiptoed to the girl and tapped her on the shoulder. The girl turned around slowly and glared at them.

John looked offended. “Wait a minute, why are we here?” he asked. He watched Gale’s eyes as they slowly turned down toward his feet. She didn’t want to give it away by words. John followed her movement. His mind went blank for a couple of seconds. .

“Better get your new shoes,” said the girl. John tried to run away as fast as he could, but he kept on stumbling over his feet. The girl laughed.

“Stop it!” screamed Gale. The girl stopped laughing and looked at Gale with a serious face.

“Sorry,” she said, “I was having fun.” Then she giggled. Gale was getting furious. She ran after John, but she couldn’t find him. So she went into the house. While she was looking for him, she had no idea that he was hiding in the bushes, with a gun!

He had an idea for getting back at Gale. No! No way! He wasn’t going to shoot Gale! Of course he was crazy, but not that crazy! He was going to shoot the crow.

The crow was perched on a tree. Gale just happened to look out the window and saw John aiming his gun in the direction of the girl. Gale’s eyes widened as she flew down the steps. She couldn’t believe what she saw. She pushed open the back door and ran toward John. But it was too late. There was a loud gunshot that was fired.

Gale stopped dead in her tracks. She listened as John crawled out of the bushes. “I can’t believe it,” she said, “I can’t believe it.” She slapped her forehead and walked toward John. She shook his shoulders furiously, saying, “What did you do? What did you do?” She looked toward the spot where the gun had been aimed. To her surprise, the girl was alive and well. But the crow lay dead cold on the ground.

She was glad the girl was all right, but she still couldn’t believe what happened. She turned around to scream at John, but he was gone. She walked up to the girl quietly and kneeled beside her. “John did it,” she whispered. The girl didn’t budge. Gale saw that her eyes were closed and small tears were running down her cheeks. It was such a sad sight that Gale started to cry.

She got up and walked home. The closer she got to the house, the madder she got. “C’mon, John,” she said, as soon as she caught sight of him. She dragged him by his jacket all the way to the girl. But she didn’t dare step out into the opening with him. She pushed him out of the bushes. “Apologize,” she whispered.

“O.K.,” he whispered back. He walked up to the girl. She was sitting down in the same place where the crow was. “Sorry,” he said.

“That won’t do,” she said.

“I am, I really am!” he said.

“Still,” she said, “that won’t do.”

“Why?” he asked.

“You have to do something.”

“For what?”

“To make up for it, and to take off your curse. Unless you already bought your shoes.”

“Sure, I’ll do it,” he said. “What do I have to do?”

“Come, follow me,” she said.

“Wait,” said John, “I have to tell Gale.”

But when John got there, Gale was gone. While she was listening, she had gotten the idea of what was going to happen. She couldn’t believe he went along with it so well.

When the girl stopped suddenly, John looked around her to see why she stopped. He saw they were at the entrance of a large cave. At the end of the cave was an eerie, glowing light. “Wait here,”

the girl said, and she walked toward the light.

So brave, thought John, as he watched her dis appear into the light. Then something long reached out of the light, beckoning John to come forward.

He tiptoed carefully toward the light, then hesitated. Something grabbed his arm and pulled him in. As soon as he stepped into where he was pulled, he looked up.

“No!” shouted a familiar voice. John couldn’t believe it. He was standing directly under the sun. And I mean directly under the sun. It was no more than a hundred feet away.

“No wonder it’s so bloody hot!” John exclaimed.

“Come,” the girl said, already rushing to the entrance of another cave. He rushed toward it, despite the sun’s heat. He stopped a few feet away from the exit of the cave. But the girl kept running. “Why are you stopping?” she yelled over her shoulder. He didn’t know why, so he started again and stopped when he felt a blast of icy wind slap him on the face.

“It’s cold!” he yelled.

“So what?!” the girl screamed. Her voice was swallowed up by the noise from the howling wind. “You made it through the hot and horrible; you can make it through the cold and terrible!” she yelled. John closed his eyes and started toward the cave, getting colder with every step. He knew it would be colder at the end, where everything was coming from. The girl was gone. Finally, he reached the end. He didn’t need to be reminded to run toward the entrance of another cave, but where was it?

“Over here!” the girl yelled. John turned to the left, where her call was coming from. He couldn’t see her because it was snowing. He walked toward her, even though he couldn’t see her. He walked on until the howling and the snow and coldness stopped, and he stopped with it. He was stunned by the sudden change.

“There,” called a voice from behind. He turned around slowly and saw the girl dusting her arms off. “Come,” she said, running toward a door.

Oh, no, thought John. But when he got there, and the girl had already opened the door, the opening was empty and dark. They sat down on a rock, just like the one the girl sat on.

“Copy me,” said the girl. She crossed her legs, rested her arms on her legs, and looked up into the darkness with closed eyes. John did the exact same thing for a couple of minutes. Then things started to change. The light came from one cave, and the snow came from the other cave. It was enough to make one sick, but it bothered neither John nor the girl, even though they still felt the cold and the hot.

“You can open your eyes, now,” the girl whispered. He opened his eyes, and through all the hubba jubba he saw millions of black figures flying toward them. Or, should I say, toward him. A shiver went through him as the black figures got closer to him. Finally, when they were close enough, he saw that the black figures were the crows that were circling above the girl when he first saw her.

“Whhhaaaat’s happening?” he said.

“They’re coming, for you,” she said, giving him a wicked smile.

“Why?” he whispered. He was thinking about Gale and what she was doing and thinking at that very moment. I bet she doesn’t know about all the misery I’m going through, now, he thought.

“Just wait and see,” the girl answered.

That girl, thought John, she never gives any direct answer, just like me! He looked at her admiringly. She was looking at the ground where the crows had settled. They were pecking at the ground.

“They’re practicing,” she said.

“For what?” He didn’t really want to know, but he was a very curious person. The girl was meditating again. John thought that if she was, he should.

And, almost as though she were reading his mind, she said, “Don’t bother.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because you have nothing to say.”

“Well, I had nothing to say the first time!” he snapped.

“Yes, you did,” she said, “all those thoughts floating around in the back of your mind, the ones you didn’t even know were there.” She went on meditating.

When finally the crows fluttered off the ground, they circled around John and then made a straight line up into the sky, one on top of the other. Then, one after another, they shot down out of the sky and pecked John on the head.

He felt very little of it at first, and then he didn’t feel it at all. Actually, what the crows were doing was taking out all of the thoughts and happenings from the time John and Gale met the girl to the present moment. The farther away they flew, the farther back in time John went.

Then John found himself peering out into an opening at a young girl about Gale’s age. Perched on her shoulder was a huge black bird….

“Hey! What’s the big idea?” she was asking.

“What’re you. . . ?” then he stopped. “Uh, sorry,” he said, and backed into the bushes. He tripped over Gale.

“Let’s go!” said Gale. They ran back to the house and didn’t say one word about the girl and the crow.

Saturday, they finally got to go home. Their week at their grandparents’ had been miserable. For start ers, it had been rainy half the week, and the house was too far out in the country for neighbors, so they didn’t have anyone to play with except their dog, Jemaima, who was a happa.

The first thing John’s mother said when they got home was, “How was your week?”

“Oh, the usual,” said John. “Rainy half the week. No one to play with the rest of the week.”

(From the January/February 1991 issue of Stone Soup.)
Copyright 1991 Children’s Art Foundation

Hardcover Chapter Books:

1. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic, $17.99) In a dystopian future, a girl fights for survival on live TV. (Ages 12 and up.)

2. Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic, $17.99.) The protagonist of “The Hunger Games” returns. (Ages 12 and up)

3. Rules of Attraction, by Simone Elkeles. (Walker, $16.99.) A teenager with gang ties seeks safety at the home of a professor and develops strong feelings for the man’s daughter. (Ages 14 and up)

4. Big Nate: In a Class by Himself, written and illustrated by Lincoln Price. (Harper/Harper Collins, $12.99) Where Nate goes, trouble is never far behind. (Ages 8 to 12)

5. Will Grayson, Will Grayson, by John Green and David Levithan. (Dutton/Penguin, $17.99.) Two boys with the same name join forces in a reality possible only in musical theater. (Ages 14 and up)

6. Fallen, by Lauren Kate. (Delacorte, $17.99) Thwarted love among misfits at boarding school. (Ages 12 and up)

7. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher. (Razorbill, $16.99) Before she commits suicide a girl sends explanatory recordings to 13 people. (Ages 14 and up)

8.Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver. (Harper/HarperCollins, $17.99) Last kisses, death and second chances await a teenager on fateful Friday. (Ages 14 and up)

9. The Time Pirate, by Ted Bell. (St. Martin’s Griffin, $17.99) The time traveler Nick McIver fights Nazis and helps George Washington. (Ages 9 to 12)

10. Sweet Little Lies, by Lauren Conrad. (Harper/HarperCollins, $17.99) the heroines of “L.A. Candy” in a new Hollywood story. (ages 14 and up)

Paperback Books:

1. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. (Knopf, $11.99) A girl saves books from Nazi burning Excerpt. (ages 14 and up)

2. If I Stay, by Gayle Forman. (Speak/Penguin, $8.99.) A young cellist falls into a coma after she suffers an accident. (Ages 14 and up)

3. Movers and Fakers, by Lisi Harrison. (Little. Brown, $9.99.) A boarding school with a “no losers” policy. (Ages 14 and up)

4. L.A. Candy, by Lauren Conrad. (HarperCollins, $9.99) Exctement in TV land. (Ages 14 and up)

5. Three Cups of Tea: Young Readers Edition, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. (Puffin, $8.99) A former climber builds schools in Pakistani and Afghan villages. (Ages 9 to 12)

6. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. Illustrated by Ellen Forney. (Little, Brown, $8.99) A young boy leaves his reservation for an all-white school. (Ages 12 and up)

7. Letters to God, by Patrick Doughtie and John Perry. (Zondervan, $14.99) A movie tie-in about a boy with terminal cancer. (Ages 14 and up)

8. Classy, by Derek Blasberg. (Razorbill, $16.99) Advice on how to be a lady in fashion, friendship and love. (Ages 12 and up)

9. Savvy, by Ingrid Law. (Puffin, $7.99) Mibs is about to turn 13, the age at which supernatural talents are conferred on members of her family. (Ages 9 to 12)

10. The Underneath, by Kathi Appelt. Illustrated by David Small. (Atheneum, $7.99) In a tough neighborhood, a dog and cat form a family. (Ages 9 to 12)

Series Books:

1. Percy Jackson & the Olympians, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, hardcover and paper) Battling mythological monsters. (Ages 9 to 12)

2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid, written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney. (Abrams, hardcover only) The travails of adolescence, in cartoons. (Ages 9 to 12)

3. The Twilight Saga, by Stephenie Meyer. (Megan Tingley/Little, Brown, hardcover and paper) Vampires and werewolves in school. (Ages 12 and up)

4. The 39 Clues, by various authors. (Scholastic, hardcover only) A brother and sister travel the world in search of the key to their family’s power. (Ages 9 to 12)

5. How to Train Your Dragon, by Cressida Cowell. (Little, Brown, hardcover and paper) A smart young Viking named Hiccup and his pet. (Ages 9 to 12)

6. Darkest Powers, by Kelley Armstrong. (Harper/HarperCollins, hardcover and paper) A genetically altered girl struggles with the demands of adolescence. (Ages 14 and up).

7. Maximum Ride, by James Patterson. (Little, Brown, hardcover and paper) winged children try to save the world. (Ages 10 and up)

8. Warriors, by Erin Hunter. (HarperCollins, hardcover and paper) four clans of cat warriors aspire to meet up with the Star Clan. (Ages 10 to 14)

9. Fablehaven, by Brandon Mull. (Shadow Mountain/Aladdin, hardcover and paperback) Evil is afoot in a sanctuary for magical creatures. (Ages 9 to 12)

10. House of Night, by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. (St. Martin’s, hardcover and paper) Vampires in school. (Ages 14 and up)

Picture Books:

1. Lego Star Wars, by Simon Beecroft. (DK, $21.99.) An annotated visual dictionary (Ages 7 and up)

2. Poet Extraordinaire!, by Jane O’Connor. Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. (HarperCollins, $12.99) It’s the season when Fancy Nancy’s fancy turns to rhyme. (Ages 4-8)

3. The Lion and the Mouse, illustrated by Jerry Pinkey. (Little, Brown, $16.99) A fable of reciprocal kindness, redrawn. (Ages 4-8)

4. My Garden, written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes. (Greenwillow/HarperCollins, $17.99). A little girl’s garden yields a bounty of magical variety. (Ages 4-8)

5. The Quiet Book, by Deborah Underwood. Illustrated by Renata Liwska. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $12.95) Animal friends experience the surprisingly numerous shades of quiet. (Ages 3-5)

6. GALLOP!, written and illustrated by Peter Brown. (Workman, $12.95). Animals seem to move when you flip the page. (Ages 4-8)

7. The Curious Garden, written and illustrated by Peter Brown. (Little, Brown, $16.99) A boy named Liam nurtures a straggly garden to vivid fruition. (Ages 4-8)

8. WADDLE!, written and illustrated by Rufus Butler Seder. (Workman, $12.95) Animals in motion, with color. (Ages 4-8)

9. SKIPPYJON JONES, LOST IN SPICE, written and illustrated by Judy Schachner. (Dutton, $16.99). The peppery red planet captures a cat’s fancy. (Ages 4-8)

10. LMNO Peas, by Keith Baker. (Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster, $16.99) A sort of “What Color is Your Parachute?” for very young legumes. (Ages 4-8)

As you read the stories, and they deserve reading more than once, pay particular attention to the two boys. The boys have a very strong presence. And they are quite different from each other. Notice how the differences are revealed. In “Clam Sushi,” for example, the two characters display quite different ideas about what should be done with the starfish. In both stories, however, it is clear that the two boys are very close friends. They seem to enjoy just being together.

Project: Write a Very Short Story
Your story should be no longer than one or two pages. The action should take place in a single location. Include two characters, as Daniel does. Show us how different they are different.

You might think of yourself as writing a scene for a play – just one scene. The scene may be at the beginning of the play, in the middle, or at the end. Both of Daniel’s stories are clearly placed in the middle of a day, although he doesn’t tell us what happens before or after.

Like Daniel, make your scene a “slice of life.” If you want to write several short pieces, consider writing scenes that reveal different moments in what is really a long and complicated story. You might even try to tell a long story by just writing the highlights in the form of brief sketches.

There are different ways you can show us how your characters act and respond to each other. In one of Daniel’s stories there is dialogue. In the other there isn’t. If there is dialogue in your scene, remember to make it as realistic as possible. The language of spoken English is not as precise as the language of written English. Let your characters tell us who they are by the natural way they talk.

Friends and Fireworks

by Daniel Bethea, age 12

Batam, Indonesia

On Sunday afternoon my Irian Jayan friend Fanda and I walked to the deserted lot full of kalimunteng bushes near our Batam house, on the paved road going to our church. When we arrived we played with fireworks. Their bright flames looked like spotlights in a circus. Sparks that fell to the sand reminded me of Expo ’86. My friend started roasting ants with his fireworks. The sizzling ants sounded like corned beef cooking in an iron skillet. The handles of the fireworks warned but didn’t burn up. Smoke and the odor of burnt plastic filled my nostrils as Fanda melted rubber. I saw a train of ants leading to a squashed berry. I felt in my pocket for the smooth surface of my last big kalimunteng. I didn’t want the ants to get it. I could still taste my second to last big berry..

Suddenly my dog, Santan, started barking his head off at a baby. The infant screamed back at Santan so he ran to me for help. I stroked his fur and told him to hush.

As we left I heard rocks crunching and popping. They were brittle and dry because there hadn’t been any rain for a while. We ran home, the rocks grinding together under our feet.

Clam Sushi

by Naomi Wendland, age 12

Lusaka, Zambia

Batam Island’s fierce tropical sun glared down at me on that Sunday afternoon, the day of Fanda’s birthday party. As I walked down the mud flats at low tide, I nonchalantly flipped a starfish over. Suddenly I stopped and yelled, “Fanda, come quick! There’s something green in the middle of this starfish!”.

He ran up and questioned eagerly, “Where? I want to see!”

“This easy-going starfish is turning his stomach inside out to eat this unfortunate clam,” I told Fanda as I moved the starfish to uncover just that.

The clam lay there, apparently dead. The pow erful suction cups of the starfish had pried open its shell. About half of the juicy pink flesh remained in the shell.

“Hey, Daniel, go get your knife and we’ll see how much he’s eaten,” Fanda suggested shrilly.

“No, that’s mean. How would you like it if a starfish came and cut you open to see what you ate?” I retorted.

“Well,” Fanda replied, “he could see I’m eating cake, so he wouldn’t need to saw on me.”

“You can see that he’s eating clam,” I replied.

In the end, we left the greenish brown starfish to finish his living clam chowder alone.

(From the January/February 1991 issue of Stone Soup.)
Copyright 1991 Children’s Art Foundation

Dylan Sauder wrote his first story when he was 4. He had just ridden in a semitrailer for the first time and, to capture the experience, he dictated a story to his mom, he said.

Ten years later, the 14-year-old got his first story published in the January/February issue of Stone Soup, an international magazine by young writers and artists.

“Behind the Curtain” is about a boy searching for his grandfather and finding home in an abandoned theater.

The story was sparked by one line: “The soft sound of a violin could be faintly heard.”

The line came to him from his imagination, Dylan said, and “It sounded cool to me.”

That was about four years ago. Then one day during a writer’s workshop at Raymond School, 2659 76th St., he went back to that line and wrote a story around it, said Dylan, an eighth-grader.

His story is one of two highlighted on the cover of Stone Soup.

Gerry Mandel, editor of the magazine, said she usually picks a couple she feels are the best of the issue for the cover. About 200 submissions are received every week, she said, and fewer than 1 percent get published.

When he saw his story in print, Dylan said he danced around the house.

What he loves about writing is seeing people enjoy what he wrote, he says, “and seeing my thoughts and ideas come to life.”

He finds the time to write whenever an idea pops into his head.

Out of the family of six – he is the second in a quadruplet – Dylan says he and his dad are the writers. His dad, Scott, a fifth-grade teacher at Gifford Elementary School, wrote a testimony about parenting quadruplets, “Raised by Grace,” shortly after they were born.

Dylan says his dad writes more than he does. He doesn’t get to write as much, because he’s busy with youth group and various school activities like Battle of the Books and a mentoring reading program.

“I’ve always been reading, so that got me writing too,” Dylan said.

In addition to reading, he says he also enjoys singing and playing music.

In fact, his interests are so wide and varied he’s not sure what he wants to do in the future.

“That list is a mile long too,” he said. “I really like music so maybe something with music.”

Writer, doctor, chiropractor or even a pastor are all possibilities.

Still, Dylan plans to keep writing. Music and violin, two of his passions, are common themes in his stories.

“Behind the Curtain” opens with a scene that draws readers in and charms them with the magic of music: “The old, worn curtain loomed over the stage. Chairs covered in faded, red velvet cushions were scattered throughout the theatre. A piano that had once been played in the most famous of performances now housed a family of mice. The theatre was falling apart, yet it still contained a certain beauty and elegance. If you listened closely, you could faintly hear the soft, sweet sound of a violin coming from behind the dark curtain.”

The subject selection is also useful for teachers of creative writing. Creative writing assignments are often thematic. For every theme you will find that Stone Soup writers have taken very different approaches. This can help you develop projects for your own classroom. More simply, you can send your students to our web site for inspiration.

If you are still thinking about a Christmas gift, it is never too late for Stone Soup. We are mailing gift announcements every day up until Christmas Eve. And if you are like me, and often wake up just about Christmas time to the awful realization that one has waited too long and there is no way to get a gift in time, just order a subscription and tell your young friend that you have done so. Stone Soup is the perfect gift for budding writers. It offers kids great pleasure throughout the year and is that rare gift that helps kids grow more  expressive and creative.

We are looking for a commitment from you to post at least once a week. The Stone Soup website has approximately 20,000 visitors per month. Web visitor statistics are notoriously difficult to interpret — many people come and go in a matter of seconds — but we can say that several thousands of these visitors spend a reasonable amount of time at our site so we expect that your blog will immediately receive attention.

If you are interested please contact me, William, at the following address: william — at– williamrubel.com.

I look forward to hearing from you.

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Now playing: Sanana Teresa
via FoxyTunes