US Common Core ELA

Poetry·Necla Asveren, age 12 — After humanity reaches for the stars and drowns in riches, survivors emerge from bunkers to find a transformed world with golden moons and purple grass.

Story·Eileen Yoo, age 12 — A girl follows a mysterious fox with blue eyes through the forest at midnight to discover a magical meadow where animals can communicate.

Poetry·Lilly Davatzes, age 11 — Letters crash like storm waves and words dive like birds in this visceral metaphor for the experience of dyslexia.

Personal Narrative·Emerson Dennis, age 11 — A third-grader accidentally leaves class early, cries from embarrassment, then months later agonizes over whether her teacher will mention it at parent-teacher conferences.

Story·Juli Hiramatsu, age 11 — A spotless leopard breaks her promise not to eat monkeys, gains spots as punishment, and must apologize to her friend to restore both her fur and friendship.

Poetry·Katie Furman, age 10 — A child's vision of a starlit doorway where wonder transforms darkness into clarity, eyes become windows to the soul, and grass appears dreamlike.

Personal Narrative·Audrey Tushman, age 12 — A gymnast describes the sensory experience of competition, from entering the arena through her floor routine, emphasizing drive over winning.

Story·Miya Lin, age 10 — A girl reads about a catnapped cat in the newspaper, then sneaks out at night to search for and successfully reunite the missing cat with its owner.

Poetry·Ismini Vasiloglou, age 11 — A stream-of-consciousness meditation on the pencil as both physical object and metaphor for writing's power to transform sadness into expression.

Poetry·Rex Huang, age 11 — A nature poem moves through seasons and small dramas — a cat-mouse chase, beavers splashing, a robin's descent — to reveal nature's hidden language.