Stories

Story·Anushka Trivedi — A child locked in a room with a menacing broom confronts grief after his mother's death, while his father and sister struggle to reach him.

Story·Charles J. Ferraro — A boy wakes in a dusty attic, discovers he's been replaced in his family's life, falls through reality, and awakens to find he has become his replacement.

Story·Talia Tarason — A girl forbidden from hunting defies her clan's rules to track a dangerous saber-tooth cat during a famine, learning to control her temper and share glory.

Story·Madaline Klassen — A farming couple who despise cats accidentally bring home two from the shelter, then discover the resulting litter makes perfect garden tillers.

Story·Christine Wang — Wind personified as a destructive force tears through a forest, damaging willow, birch, and reeds while warning of fighting spirits.

Story·Alice Pak — A Ukrainian boy and his mother flee their war-torn town for Russia, leaving behind his best friend Varya, and later he begins writing her a letter about rebuilding their home.

Story·Autumn E. Weinreich — A hermit crab named Kermit faces school bullies, challenges them to an exoball game, and wins by riding on opponents' shells, transforming his social status.

Story·Callia Rodgers — After her mother dies in childbirth, a girl defies orders to stay out of the forest and discovers she's inherited magical powers to protect it from shadow creatures.

Story·Felicia Johnson — A young elf girl discovers she can communicate with dragons and learns the kingdom's 'dragon attacks' are actually humans attacking dragons, becoming the prophesied Dragon Charmer.

Story·Marlene Dukes — A lonely girl's accidental cross-country journey in a malfunctioning self-driving car becomes an adventure in independence and connection with an unlikely companion.