How do you use Stone Soup?

Posted: August 23rd, 2010, Author: admin

We started publishing Stone Soup in 1973. We were college students. The magazine grew rapidly for the first few years and then it leveled off. We’d like to see it grow again and are thinking that it might help us tell the Stone Soup story if we could hear from you how you use Stone Soup in your classroom or how your child responds to Stone Soup when it arrives in your home. We’d like to hear from you in writing — and if you might feel inspired ot make a video that you wouldn’t mind us positing on our web site — then we’d like to hear from you in video, too.

Thank you,

William

People of the Crow, a tale of the fantastic

Posted: June 23rd, 2010, Author: admin

Angela’s story takes place in a very specific place: Cranford, New Jersey. And yet, it not exactly Cranford. Things happen in this story that don’t take place in Cranford – or any place on earth. Things happen in this story that only happen in imagination.

New York Times Bestseller Children’s Books List – May 2, 2010

Posted: May 5th, 2010, Author: admin

So many writers are also voracious readers. What follows is a list of the New York Times bestselling children’s books. If you are aged 13 or under we would love to know what you think of these books. If you have read one of them please review the book in the comment field, below. If you have never submitted comments on a website before and need help, then please ask a parent, older brother or sister, or your teacher to help you.

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)

Two Stories about Friends

Posted: April 1st, 2010, Author: admin

Two stories. Short. Simple. Each story about two friends. In one, two boys walk along the beach and look at a starfish. In the other, two boys shoot off fireworks on a vacant lot. Each of these very short stories is, in its own way, complex. Not only do the stories provide a vivid picture of where they take place, but they also each reveal a great deal about the characters, their relationship to each other, and their relationship to the world.

Looking for Drama Instructors to Work with Children to Record Children’s Stories

Posted: March 3rd, 2010, Author: William Rubel

When a new issue of Stone Soup is published, editor Gerry Mandel selects a story to feature on our website and asks the author to record a reading of the story. Over the years, we have built up a large archive of stories read by Stone Soup authors.

We are now thinking we would like to record stories we haven’t previously recorded. We are looking for drama teachers, or anyone with recording experience who works with children, to work with us to record children reading Stone Soup stories for posting on this website and on iTunes. We may even produce a CD. We have been publishing Stone Soup for thirty-seven years and have a wealth of material by children up to age thirteen to work with.

If you might be interested in this project, please write to me, william@williamrubel.com. I am thinking that making recordings of children might entail a collaboration between a classroom teacher, a drama teacher, and a radio presenter at a community college or university radio station who could do the actual recording, and possibly the editing as well.

I look forward to hearing from you.

William Rubel
Co-Editor of Stone Soup

Journal Times Article about Stone Soup Teen Author

Posted: February 26th, 2010, Author: admin

The Racine, Wisconsin, Journal Times ran an article about Dylan Saunder’s story in the January/February issue of Stone Soup. Stone Soup is one of the few outlets for young teens to be published. The entire story from the Journal Times is reproduced, below:

Working with Dialogue

Posted: February 26th, 2010, Author: William Rubel

The most remarkable part of Lena’s story is the last quarter where four characters respond to a traumatic event. This section, beginning with the “No!” spoken by the narrator and continuing to the end, depends heavily on dialogue. It could almost be a play. Notice that, although the lines spoken by Sandy, Carrie, Mom, the narrator, and Mrs. Hall are often very short, we get a clear sense of how each character differs from the others and how they relate to each other as family, friends, and neighbors. This is accomplished through the narrative that accompanies the dialogue.

First forum post

Posted: January 11th, 2010, Author: William Rubel

We have our first forum post. It is by a parent writing about her Tween daughter’s difficulty finishing stories. It is posted in the forum for questions to the Stone Soup editors. The forums still need help getting started. If you are a parent, teacher, or a kid and you have a question for us, please go to the forum and ask it. There are also forums for teachers and parents to share ideas about teaching creative writing — or to ask each other questions. We definitely need brave souls to start posting in these forums to get them off the ground. Thank you.

Stone Soup Archive

Posted: January 11th, 2010, Author: admin

The Stone Soup archive has hundreds of stories, poems, and book reviews. The purpose of the online archive is to offer free resources for students, parents, and teachers who are interested in writing by kids. One feature that I would like to call your attention to is that the 322 stories published on the site can be sorted by subject. By selecting the subject you can create your own anthology so you can read stories that are on subjects that interest you.

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.

Help us get our forums going!

Posted: December 18th, 2009, Author: admin

We have just put up three forums for teachers and parents. Getting forums started is the hard part. You can help us by visiting the forums and making those all important first posts. Thank you.