ACARA Years 3-6

Story·Bailey Bergmann, age 12 — A girl struggles with her rebellious golden retriever until he falls through ice into a river, and she jumps in to save him, realizing she loves him as he is.

Story·Claire Wilhelm-Safian, age 11 — A poet escapes his chaotic household at night to write in the barn, where the sounds of sleeping animals inspire verses that flow from his heart.

Story·Hannah Gottlieb-Graham, age 12 — At art camp, a girl joins a secret nickname club where everyone has a summer identity, until the club's leader reveals her own name was never a nickname at all.

Story·Katharine Pong, age 12 — A girl runs eleven miles to the beach without planning, where observing oysters making pearls from irritating sand grains helps her reframe her frustrations with home life.

Story·Erin Cadora, age 10 — A stray cat with a bell that prevents her from hunting gradually learns to trust a grieving woman who feeds her, eventually becoming a beloved family pet.

Poetry·Sophie Anne Ruehr, age 11 — A child navigates a Cape Cod beach as high tide transforms the landscape, jumping ice-covered islands while observing the retreating wildlife and encroaching sea.

Story·Talitha Farschman, age 12 — A noble lady disguises herself as a foreign prince and wins three contests to free her husband from the king's dungeon after he boasted of her beauty.

Poetry·Ava Alexander, age 11 — Winter melts into spring as mountains show green haze, moles tunnel, and a robin pulls the first worm from softened ground.

Story·Emmy J. X. Wong, age 11 — A reluctant girl spends summer caring for her grandmother on Nantucket, discovering family heritage through lightship basket weaving and maritime stories, finding unexpected belonging.

Poetry·Cayley Ziak, age 12 — A tree and stars converse at night, each envying the other's life until they recognize their own unique purposes and blessings.