US Common Core ELA

Poetry·Stella White, age 11 — A girl lies in her father's childhood bed in London, watching trains pass and imagining his life decades earlier in the same room.

Story·Alice Ford, age 9 — After a friendship ruptures over a science project, Jess discovers her late mother's journals and plans a camping sleepover to reconcile with Bailey under the stars.

Poetry·Abigail D'Agosta, age 12 — A chicken investigates a strange furry creature through the coop wire, stretching its neck cautiously before pecking the cat's ear.

Story·Brooke Fallows, age 11 — A girl remembers her grandfather through visits to a train station and Olvera Street, then recounts his death and what he taught her about time and memory.

Story·Emily Worrell, age 12 — In 1940s America, a girl defies gender expectations to join the local baseball league, facing down the hostile coach and proving herself with a crucial home run.

Story·Shyla DeLand, age 11 — After a weasel kills her beloved rooster Cocky, a girl struggles with guilt over loving a new chick until her mother helps her understand that loving again doesn't betray the...

Poetry·Jeremy Long, age 13 — A homeless speaker finds beauty in rain-soaked streets while others hurry inside, seeing Picasso in puddles and mythological figures in storm clouds.

Story·Annnabel Chosy, age 11 — After a power outage during a grief support group, a girl searches for her missing classmate and discovers they share a deeper bond through loss.

Story·Melissa Birchfield, age 13 — A girl obsessed with reading 200 books to become a novelist discovers through her younger cousin that living life provides better inspiration than hiding in stories.

Story·Jenny Li, age 11 — During wartime, a boy trains doves to carry messages and inadvertently saves his occupied city when the birds reach the wrong army unit, though his father never returns.