ACARA Foundation-Year 2

Poetry·Bailey Victoria Nold, age 10 — A young poet urges readers to step outside and notice their freedom, safety, and luck through simple observations of birds, melting snow, and neighborhood play.

Story·Angela Chang, age 9 — A girl watches from her backyard as a male blue jay sings to attract a mate, then observes the pair fly away together into the sky.

Poetry·Sophia Lipkin, age 9 — A young rider recalls beloved horses and the exhilarating moment of her first successful jump, feeling her heart soar as Violet leaps into the bright blue sky.

Poetry·Ella Csuros, age 8 — A bilingual poem where water becomes the island where grandmother lives, with bears, ocean lullabies, and uncle's fishing boat.

Poetry·Zinnia Schwartz, age 10 — A sudden storm transforms a sunny afternoon in the park, sending a child running and slipping on raindrops as darkness overtakes the day.

Poetry·Ella Rogers, age 10 — A salmon's perspective during its final leap upstream, narrowly escaping a grizzly bear's jaws before reaching calmer waters.

Poetry·Elizabeth R. Herndon, age 10 — A child lies in cold grass on an autumn night, imagining herself as a falling leaf among bare trees and scattered leaves.

Story·Lily Strauss, age 10 — A Montana girl raises money to visit her beloved horse Missoula, who has been sent to Missouri to work as a therapy horse for children with disabilities.

Story·Isabella Widrow, age 9 — On a rainy day, a bored girl finds her cat Mango in a closet and shares a moment of connection that transforms her mood.

Story·Elizabeth Surman, age 10 — A daughter celebrates her father through vivid portraits of his loud presence, humor, work ethic, and creative cooking experiments, declaring him the 'King of San Marino.'