Stories

Story·Phoebe Donovan, age 11 — A boy grieving his father's death begins seeing visions of a magical war led by General X, who resembles his dad, until reality and fantasy blur dangerously.

Story·Sascha Farmer, age 12 — After moving from a small Canadian coastal town to Houston, Gale struggles with homesickness, remembering her life among pine forests, gray jays, and ocean fishing.

Story·Sean O'Connor, age 3 — A turtle who sees her imagined worlds as real befriends a dog who helps turn her visions into actual houses they can share.

Story·Alexa Rivera Rockwood, age 12 — A monarch butterfly loses half her wing crossing a polluted city on her migration to Mexico, but continues on foot, determined to be the first to complete the journey.

Story·Ella Martinez Nocito, age 12 — A girl receives a cedar bracelet and a story about courage from her cousin before moving across the country, finding strength to face change.

Story·Oliver Giller, age 10 — A boy who counts his 2,476 hairs discovers one is missing and hires a suspicious detective who charges $100 to solve the case.

Story·Vandana Ravi, age 12 — A girl's morning bike ride to school becomes a meditation on class differences and gratitude, finding beauty in her modest neighborhood despite glimpses of wealth.

Story·Emma McKinny, age 13 — A girl attends her father's opening night performance in an opera about the atomic bomb, where the show's depiction of nuclear devastation awakens her anger about historical injustice.

Story·Alex Berman, age 13 — A whimsical origin story explains how the floating, two-eyed giiants of Chocolate Lemon island became the one-eyed cyclopes we know today.

Story·Sierra Glassman, age 13 — A young crane faces exhaustion, cold, and an eagle attack during his first migration over the Himalayas, finally reaching safety in a warm field.