ACARA Years 3-6

Poetry·Julia Caggiano, age 10 — A child sends love through night sounds and constellations to someone far away, finding connection in shared memories of crickets and stars.

Story·Juliette Shang, age 10 — A young pianist reflects on why she continues despite the tedium of practice, finding meaning in performance, emotional expression, and connecting with elderly audiences.

Poetry·Emily Dexter, age 13 — A young poet imagines her future home painted paradise blue, with wind chimes, forsythia, and wandering aromas creating an oasis among city streets.

Story·Evelyn Chen, age 12 — Two cousins at a beach house share the same drowning nightmare, then follow a mysterious voice to rescue a seal trapped in a fishing net.

Story·Lily Hoelscher, age 13 — A girl having a terrible day meets a mysterious boy who shows her a hidden pond with lotus flowers growing from mud, teaching her about resilience.

Story·Eleanor M. Polak, age 11 — After her parents' death, Sarah moves from her strict aunt's house to live with elderly strangers in the country, finding unexpected warmth and belonging.

Story·Catherine Chung, age 10 — After her dog is killed in a storm, a girl runs to their secret creek hideout to grieve, where her mother finds and comforts her.

Poetry·Hannah Mark, age 12 — A canoe journey down a river becomes a catalog of sensory impressions — from burbling water to wild mint to watchful eagles — preserved as memory.

Story·Isabel Stronski, age 12 — After her mother's death, a girl moves to a farm with her father and encounters an old woman who tends a single bean plant, her only inheritance from her late...

Poetry·Kira Householder, age 12 — A granddaughter listens intently as her grandfather talks about construction and business, finding beauty and hidden lessons in his philosophical approach to work.