ACARA Years 3-6

Story·Dana Yehia, age 8 — An alien from planet Watercolors dreams of being an explorer, builds his own spaceship to visit Earth, and ends up copying everything humans say because he doesn't speak English.

Story·Bo-Violet Vig, age 13 — A girl who knows every corner of her beloved childhood home must move across the country, discovering that home is defined by the people you love, not the house itself.

Story·Maggie Shelton, age 12 — Dawn breaks over a sleeping town, awakening colors, sounds, and smells as families gather for breakfast in homes around the world.

Story·Rose Fischer, age 12 — A girl's birthday wish for a puppy and amazing drawing skills comes true when her drawings literally come to life, creating chaos at school.

Personal Narrative·Asher Jenvey, age 10 — A boy recounts his journey through bullying and unsupportive schools in second grade to finding real friends and better teachers by fifth grade.

Story·Olivia Rhee, age 9 — A poor farm girl discovers money in an abandoned house, uses it for school, and starts a newspaper that leads to an unexpected friendship with a rival.

Poetry·Zeke Braman, age 9 — A nine-year-old transforms the mundane task of folding laundry into an existential meditation on life's overwhelming choices and uncertain futures.

Story·Lucy Laird, age 12 — A melodramatic sixth-grader faces her turn at kickball, convinced she'll die of embarrassment, spiraling through existential revelations before being saved by the lunch bell.

Poetry·Adele Stamenov, age 10 — A moment of anxiety dissolves into calm through the ritual of making tea, where milk clouds float in their own suspended world.

Personal Narrative·Norah Grigoresco, age 10 — After returning from Chile, a first-grader struggles with English reading until determination and practice transform her from level B to level Q, the highest in her class.