US Common Core ELA

Story·Xian Chiang-Waren — After a baby's drowning death, thirteen-year-old Eve and her sister are sent from their Massachusetts island home to the mainland while their mother recovers from grief.

Story·Will Stroud, age 13 — A wolf named Buck leads his pack in a three-day hunt through the Alaskan wilderness, finally cornering and killing a formidable old moose.

Story·Sharon Wang, age 13 — Two childhood best friends drift apart after a betrayed secret, then reunite years later on a rainy night at a football game, realizing their pride broke them apart.

Story·Delia Rainey, age 10 — A girl sent to shovel snow becomes the Snow Queen in her winter palace, watching ice ballerinas fall from the sky until her father joins her imagination.

Story·Megan Kirby, age 12 — A girl forms a bond with a wild black stallion named Draco, but realizes she must set him free when captivity breaks his spirit.

Poetry·Nicole Guenther, age 12 — A girl contrasts her fearless swing-jumping with her cautious friend, capturing the exhilaration of flight and the dizzy joy of letting go.

Story·Hannah Berman — Buck the wolf leads his pack on a three-day hunt through Alaskan wilderness, tracking and ultimately killing a formidable old moose in a violent confrontation.

Story·Kevin Zhou, age 13 — A Cuban immigrant dominates the Little League World Series with perfect games until guilt over lying about his age forces him to confess, sacrificing his baseball dreams.

Story·Travis Royce, age 13 — While watering tomato plants, a boy watches water flood an ant colony and desperately tries to save drowning ants, reflecting on empathy and the value of small lives.

Story·Alison Citron, age 13 — A foster girl discovers a mermaid near her temporary home on an island, reads a diary from 1820 about the same creature, and chooses to join the underwater world.