Stone soup

An interesting retelling of a classic story about how coming together allows us to make something out of nothing. To me it seemed more thoughtful in approach than Demi's The Empty Pot (which I read two seconds ago, I have a pile going), but that may mostly be a credit to 21st vs. 20th century publishing norms.

Sometimes children are the ones brave enough to imagine new and better ways of setting up a society, and the first steps of healing can be scary and tentative. I like much of what this story says about collectivism and how generosity and compromise are reciprocal processes. Put another way, we are stronger together, and the best relationships involve give and take, not just one or the other.

Also, it's just hard to grocery shop and cook for a small number of people. I just froze half a batch of chicken chili. Why not multiply the recipe by 16 and turn it into an enormous festival instead?