About the book

Stone Soup for the World: Life-Changing Stories of Kindness & Courageous Acts of Service gives you 100 wonderful stories to share with the children in your life. These heartwarming, action-oriented stories will show them a different world--real heroes who had the courage to overcome obstacles in their lives and the determination to work hard and build a better world. Young and old alike will be inspired by the hundreds of ideas for how we can help our children, our schools, our communities and our country to be the best we can be.

Caroline Kennedy

My father used to say that one person could make a difference and each of us should try. This book tells the stories of people who have made that difference, and they are an inspiration to us all.

Foreward to the book by Jack Canfield

Stone Soup for the World is a beacon of light pointing the way to how to give back and contribute to our communities. It is, in a sense, a handbook for humanitarians, giving us hundreds of ideas for how we can make the world a better place.

John Gray, author of:
Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus

These stories help us to see the best in others
and inspire us to be the best we can be.

Eric Utne, Utne Reader

Stone Soup for the World is filled with the kinds of inspirational stories we all need to hear. Marianne's gift is in presenting them in ways people will want to hear.

Frances Moore Lappe, Center for Living Democracy

By celebrating ordinary people doing extraordinary things to build communities, Stone Soup for the Worldproves that possibility for every one of us.

Harlan Cleveland,
President of The World Academy of Arts and Sciences

A vivid gallery of can-do people who have done extraordinary things against extraordinary odds. By acting out their dreams, these heroes show how global dreams for a better world can actually come true.

Joseph Jaworsky,
author of Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership

Taps a universal longing to make a difference. These stories describe a way of seeing -- and of being in the world -- which could help us rekindle the human spirit in business.

John Vasconcellas, California State Senator

"Hopefully, this book will inspire each of us to more fully appreciate and nurture children's and our own natural instincts for learning, caring and growing fully human."

Tom Chappell, President of Tom's of Maine

By telling stories of community service, Stone Soup for the World plays an important role in reinforcing the values of inspiring the actions upon which a healthy civil society depends.

A letter from President Clinton:

Dear Ms. Larned,

Thank you for your thoughtful letter and the copy of Stone Soup for the World. I deeply appreciate your warm words of support.

The inspiring personal stories featured in this book are wonderful testaments to the ideals of good citizenship. Citizen service reflects one of the most basic convictions of our democracy: that we are all responsible for one another. It is a very American idea that we meet our challenges not through big government or as isolated individuals, but as members of a true community, with all of us working together.

Something very important to our nation occurred at the Presidents' Summit. There, people from all walks of life looked beyond their differences and came together around the common goal of serving our country to give all our people a chance to have a better life.

Thanks again for writing. I look forward to continuing our work together.

Sincerely,
[President Clinton]

A letter from President Bush

Dear Ms. Larned,

Many thanks for your terrific book and kind words regarding The Presidents' Summit. Having just returned from Philadelphia, I am as confident as ever that the spirit of volunteerism will flourish in the United States and good works by people such as yourself will be duly recognized.

Stone Soup for the World tells many inspiring stories and reinforces a favorite quote of mine, "From now on in America any definition of a successful life must include service to others." Your compilation of stories clearly illustrates this point and I'm grateful to have a copy.

Warm regards,
[George Bush]