Mentor Texts

“The Asteroid Attack” is a short story by Julia Hershon, age 11. The story is written in the close third person. The protagonist, Evangeline, lives with her parents on a farm in France that she will one day own. Their crops keep dying. They live near mountains, but Evangeline has never been to the mountains, […]

“Scared” is a very short story by Kaydence Sweitzer, age 9. In it, the narrator is sitting in a fort they made, reading a book at night when suddenly, they hear a frightening noise through the window. Horrified, they hide under the covers (we begin to realize the fort is perhaps in the narrator’s bed). […]

“A Windy Spring Day” is a short story by Jack Meyer, age 13. The story is told in the first person in past tense. When it begins, our protagonist is crawling through a hole in a fence between his house and that of his next-door neighbor, Kyle. We learn that he and Kyle are best […]

“The Birth of Samira” is a piece from a collection of personal narratives called “Autobiographical Vignettes” by Anushka Trivedi, age 10. In it, the author opens by describing her mother’s pregnancy with her sister, Samira. Anushka is so excited because she is going to be a sister any day. Each day, a rotating cast of […]

“Treacherous Climb” is a short story by Sarah Süel, age 10. The story is written in the first person in past tense. We open onto the protagonist, Kate, feeding cheese to her pet mouse, Hammy. We learn that Kate lives on a dairy farm. After milking the cows, she makes a wish by blowing on […]

“Regrets and Broken Gas Pumps” is a short short story written by Sydney Burr, age 13. It is written in close first person and is in the present tense. The first half of the story is in italics and is from the point of view of someone pumping gas. It is very hot, and the […]

“The Mourning Dove” by Meital Fried, age 13, is a short story written in the first-person past tense. The story opens on our protagonist, who is sitting with her two moms, Aunt Jasmine and Aunt Mama, looking at a mourning dove on the roof of their house that will not leave. The protagonist explains that […]

Anticipation builds as Emma awaits her father’s opening-night performance in a new opera

“Jennie’s House” is a short story by Bo-Violet Vig, age 13. Written in the close third person in past tense, “Jennie’s House” follows the story of Jennie and (surprise surprise) her house. Jennie lives with her family in a house on Gardener Street that she absolutely adores. She grew up in this house, and she […]

“The Bakery” is a personal narrative by Rubina Davila, age 13. Written in the first person in past tense, the piece opens onto the sights and sounds the writer encountered when she walked into the bakery on Cesar Chavez Avenue in East Los Angeles. The writer then describes everything she can see, hear, taste, smell, […]

For the first time ever, the author is given permission to go outside alone—in New York City

“Gentle Hands,” by Michelle Wang, age 12, is a story about a student on her first day of first grade, written in the first person. Michelle is extremely scared to be at school and can’t stop crying. She wants to be at home, where people speak Chinese, and where she understands everything that is going […]