ACARA Years 3-6

Personal Narrative·Taryn Morlock, age 11 — Scientists are using gene-editing to modify pig organs for human transplants, removing problematic sugars and viruses that cause rejection.

Poetry·Yutia Li, age 9 — A playful cosmic origin story traces from a tiny speck's explosion through the Big Bang to Earth's formation and the first single-celled life.

Poetry·Sterling Waterfield, age 11 — A young philosopher questions why things are named what they are, why humans dominate, and ultimately decides to accept the world's strange design.

Poetry·Kieran O'Donnell, age 11 — A philosophical meditation on how cold is merely the absence of heat, exploring the nature of opposites and what truly exists versus what we perceive.

Poetry·Karinne Ulrey, age 10 — Night falls on a city where stoplights reflect off water, distant conversations drift on the breeze, and a lone car crosses a scarlet bridge.

Story·Elisabeth Baer, age 10 — A magical clock that regulates emotions is thrown away by its bitter owner, journeys through the ocean depths, meets the empress of the sea, and finds a new home with...

Story·Sydney Burr, age 11 — A girl who writes by a mountain stream is transported into her own story about an Egyptian pyramid, where she meets her protagonist and must find a way out.

Story·Sabrina Feldberg, age 12 — A Chicago teen resenting her family's move to San Francisco transforms into a fish at the beach, navigating dangers before accepting her new home.

Story·Lucy Zanker, age 11 — A girl and her robotic brother accidentally launch themselves into space on their father's NASA rocket, forcing her to disassemble him to return home safely.

Poetry·Ana Carpenter, age 10 — A girl imagines being queen of the world, floating above in moonlight and clouds, but discovers the weight of such power and chooses ordinary life instead.