ACARA Years 3-6

Story·Emily deLisle, age 10 — An Egyptian servant girl who is secretly the goddess Isis helps a hippo mother killed by hunters become the goddess Tawret, reuniting her with her family in the afterlife.

Poetry·Alyssum Quaglia, age 12 — A landlord tends his garden at dawn, moving through dewy grass to pull weeds and care for lettuce and strawberries in the quiet morning.

Poetry·Katie Ferman, age 12 — While learning to peel apples with her mother, a girl's mind drifts through memories of other first times, barely noticing when she achieves the perfect peel.

Story·Ralphie Kabo, age 11 — Rabbit soldier Brumm rises through ranks to defend Fort Cuniculus against fox invaders, forging alliances with dingoes and kangaroos in an Australian bush war.

Story·Margaret Bryan, age 10 — A girl treasures a robin's feather and its song, loses the feather to her sister's art project, then rediscovers music's magic through her sister's violin playing.

Story·Karin Denton, age 12 — A girl reluctantly visits her family's new house, escapes the paint fumes to explore the woods behind it, and discovers a hidden meadow that helps her accept the move.

Story·Ben Mast, age 12 — A peasant girl follows a mysterious blue dragon into its burrow and discovers it's actually an evil magician who killed her family and seeks to end her bloodline.

Poetry·Colin Johnson, age 11 — Christmas morning unfolds through sensory details as two brothers wait impatiently for parents to wake, then discover surf-themed presents under the glowing tree.

Poetry·Lotus Shen, age 11 — A catalog poem traces things that vanish — vapor trails, insects, melting snowflakes, flowing water — finding the hidden nature of everyday disappearances.

Poetry·Sandra Detweiler, age 13 — A lyrical meditation on climbing above fog to find mountain peaks rising like islands from a sea of clouds below.