The Stone Soup Book of Festival and Holiday Stories

Stone Soup is the international literary magazine and website publishing writing and art by young people under the age of 14. Founded in 1973, we have published more creative work by children than any other publisher, selecting the very best from thousands of submissions every year. This volume of stories about Festivals and Holidays is part of a series of books in which we bring together some of our young writers’ finest work on particular themes.

The 53 stories and three poems in this volume were written by authors between the ages of six and 13, selected for publication in Stone Soupmagazine. Since its beginning in 1973, Stone Souphas published art, poetry, and short fiction springing from the imaginations of young writers and artists. The excitement and traditions associated with the events that mark each year have been part of that work since the very first issue of the magazine.

In this collection, you will find stories about family gatherings, gift giving, seasonal rituals and performances, and fun with friends, all with holidays, festivals or collective celebrations–secular and religious–at their core. Predictably, for a magazine whose home is in the United States, the longest section contains stories based around Christmas, with a smattering about Hanukkah, Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July. But you’ll also read poems and stories about celebrations in other cultures, from Diwali to a Navajo puberty ceremony, and meet a few Halloween witches, solstice sunrises, and St. Patrick’s Day leprechauns along the way. Join us for a walk through a year punctuated by festivals, holidays–and our young authors’ creative thinking.