ACARA Years 3-6

Story·Ryan Kearns, age 12 — A family takes their cancer-stricken dog Maddy to her beloved beach one last time, where she briefly finds the strength to play before being put to sleep the next day.

Story·Emily Grant, age 12 — A golden stallion who killed a girl's father returns months later, saves her from a barn fire, and earns the family's forgiveness.

Story·Ani Wilcenski, age 11 — A boy watches snow transform the landscape and records the lives of forest creatures, while his father sees only an eyesore to remove.

Poetry·Jason Fong, age 11 — A young poet confronts racist taunts of 'Go back to Asia' by questioning where anyone truly belongs, reminding us that only Native Americans aren't immigrants to this land.

Story·Maia Donahue, age 12 — A lonely fifth-grader who feels invisible meets Lizzy, a quirky new student with electric blue eyes who notices her red Converse and offers genuine friendship.

Poetry·Leah Berger, age 12 — A young musician describes the physical and emotional experience of playing a brass instrument, from cold valves to the music flowing through her body.

Story·Olivia Michelle Smit, age 13 — A ten-year-old Sioux boy participates in his first buffalo hunt, kills the largest buffalo in the herd, and earns his adult name, Buffalo Spirit.

Story·Ella Staats, age 10 — A girl sent to live with grandparents in Maine because her family has eight children finds a stray kitten on the beach and realizes she hasn't been abandoned after all.

Story·Brooke Antoine, age 13 — A girl sneaks out at night to the boardwalk, discovers a manatee tangled in a net, rescues it with her parents' help, and later travels to Florida to release it.

Poetry·Zoë Cassinelli, age 12 — Laughter becomes a cool glass of water that offers temporary escape from homework, hospital visits, and the weight of the real world.