ACARA Years 7-10

Story·Claudia Ross, age 13 — Walking a valley trail after elementary school graduation, a girl finds a broken eggshell and realizes the hawks circling her are searching for it.

Story·Andrew Lee, age 13 — During a freezing night soccer game, a player overcomes bitter cold and narrowly misses a goal, finding warmth in his teammates' support and love for the game.

Story·Kia Okuma, age 12 — A young opera-goer finds transcendence not in the spectacle but in the music itself, which becomes a force that balances and sustains her between performances.

Story·Emma Dudley, age 13 — A boy living in a North Carolina trailer park befriends a wealthy newcomer who moves into his childhood home, forcing him to confront his past and find belonging.

Story·Amanda Valdovinos, age 13 — A girl walks through her empty childhood home one last time before moving, finding comfort in her old cat who shares her reluctance to leave.

Story·Emily Schneider, age 13 — A girl in California gazes into a snow globe's winter scene, imagining the Christmas town inside before returning to the blazing heat outside.

Story·Adam Jacobs, age 13 — A boy learns his father must move to California for work, runs away in anger and confusion, then returns home ready to face the separation.

Poetry·Peter Satterthwaite, age 13 — A peaceful pond scene transforms when a dead swan is discovered, prompting questions about death, grief, and the aggressive mourning behavior of its companions.

Poetry·Malini Gandhi, age 13 — A seven-year-old in New Delhi sees street children from her car window and understands for the first time what her mother meant about children dying in the world.

Story·Dylan J. Sauder, age 13 — A boy hiding in an abandoned Paris theatre discovers ghostly musicians are his mother's orchestra, leading him to his grandfather, the famous conductor Alexandre Mierceles.