US Common Core ELA

Story·Hayden Rasberry, age 11 — A lonely boy struggling with growing up finds an abandoned dog on the street and secretly brings him home, only to discover his parents had planned to get him a...

Story·Emma Watson, age 13 — A girl covets a gold necklace at a shop but finds greater beauty in a silver flower from her backyard that transforms her reflection into something magical.

Story·Cameron Manor, age 11 — Two sisters navigate their relationship through midnight roof adventures, failed spy agencies, and garage sales of unwanted gifts, revealing the complex dynamics of sibling love.

Story·Cameron Manor, age 11 — Three vignettes capture the chaotic dynamics between sisters: midnight roof adventures, a failed spy agency, and a garage sale of unwanted 'gifts.'

Story·Kaija Warner, age 13 — A boy travels back to 1908 where a mysterious girl helps him return to his own time, only to discover she died the day after they met.

Poetry·Levi Crossley, age 12 — A morning farm routine becomes a meditation on familiar rituals, from feeding cattle to picking the season's first buttercup.

Story·Nicky Cannon, age 12 — A boy races from car to ocean, feeling invincible in the Atlantic waves until his mother calls him back to ordinary life at nightfall.

Story·Madelyne Xiao, age 12 — A daughter watches her mother prepare mung bean noodles despite burns from hot water, while her father returns from Paris with a French baguette, revealing love through food and sacrifice.

Story·Katharine Keller, age 13 — A city girl sent to her grandparents' desert homestead for summer discovers unexpected beauty in the harsh landscape and finds her artistic calling.

Poetry·Mara Schiffhauer, age 12 — A plant watches a baby being celebrated for growing, then remembers its own unwitnessed growth from seed to tree, reaching skyward with equal pride.