Stories

Story·Connor Nackley, age 12 — A young snowboarder conquers his most feared slope on the last run of the season, jumping a mogul and experiencing freedom before tearfully saying goodbye until next year.

Story·Jessye Holmgren-Sidell, age 13 — During the Irish Potato Famine, a girl on a coffin ship to America remembers losing her family to starvation and the promise she couldn't keep to her dying sister.

Story·Andrew Lee, age 13 — After his older brother leaves for college, a boy finds solace in their old fort and rescues a fallen fledgling, seeing his own loss reflected in the abandoned bird.

Story·Richard Wang, age 13 — A newspaper delivery boy wrestles with his conscience on a brutally cold morning, ultimately choosing duty over comfort after reading about Andrew Carnegie.

Story·Jonathan Morris, age 13 — An eight-year-old boy breaks through his grandfather's emotional walls by building a model pirate ship together, transforming their relationship through shared imagination and craftsmanship.

Story·Sanjana Saxena, age 11 — A girl moves from Chicago to India during monsoon season, experiences two different schools, then relocates to California, carrying memories of both homes.

Story·Elise Watt, age 13 — During community service punishment, Bailey watches ducks struggle free from thorns and finds hope for her parents battling her father's cancer.

Story·Emmy J. X. Wong, age 12 — A Newfoundland girl finds a mysterious bottle on the shore, launches it with a carved whale inside, and watches it travel the world collecting treasures from children in different countries.

Story·Mae Hardman-Hill, age 10 — When Leo announces he's moving to New York City, his best friend Anabeth gives him a drawing of them biking by Seneca Lake, which he keeps for nine years.

Story·Aoife Troxel, age 12 — A boy saves his friend from an oncoming train after the friend becomes disoriented from a fall, but the rescue happens so fast he can barely process it.