IB MYP Language & Literature

Story·Eoin O'Mara, age 11 — A boy secretly befriends a field mouse his family considers a pest, then faces a moral crisis when his grandmother orders him to shoot it with his bow and arrow.

Poetry·Aiwen L. Desai, age 12 — A wolf's howl, an elephant's wail, a polar bear's lament become nature's collective plea for humans to stop destroying and start creating a world where all creatures can thrive.

Story·Elam Fifer-Whiting, age 13 — A boy's subway journey becomes a catalog of encounters — a homeless woman, street performers, a soul-reading stranger — each revealing the city's complex humanity.

Story·Lauren Vanden Bosch, age 12 — A girl abandons her best friend when she moves away, then learns about friendship and priorities when she helps an injured competitor during a cross-country race.

Story·Isabella Widrow, age 11 — A second-grader's world shifts when her beloved teacher announces his retirement, sending her through grief, illness, and eventual acceptance over the course of a school year.

Story·Emily Knopf, age 13 — A thirteen-year-old girl remembers her brother's journey from playful teenager to soldier while processing the news that he's missing in action in Afghanistan.

Story·Mathilde Fox-Smith, age 10 — A girl discovers her mother's missing camellias are being taken by a Mexican neighbor who weaves flower crowns, leading to friendship and tragedy when the neighbor's sister drowns.

Story·Erin Trefny, age 11 — A middle school boy who loves dance faces relentless bullying until he decides to perform in the school talent show to show his classmates what dance truly means to him.

Poetry·Brooke Gillman, age 13 — A young writer climbs her favorite oak tree overlooking dark water, finding solitude and inspiration in the worn branches where she writes.

Story·Trentin Lyle Stalnaker, age 11 — A boy accidentally shoots a squirrel with his BB gun, then desperately tries to save it, confronting his guilt and the reality of what he's done.