US Common Core ELA

Personal Narrative·Sonia Teodorescu, age 13 — A girl labeled 'alien' by her friend for her waterproof hair and quirks observes the equally strange behaviors of everyone around her at what seems to be a summer camp.

Story·Chamonix Fernandes, age 11 — A World War II veteran visits his best friend's grave, triggering memories of the day Joseph died saving him in a jungle ambush.

Story·Oren Milgrom-Dorfman, age 12 — A girl escapes her parents on a forest hike, then later that night returns to the woods alone to weep in a moonlit clearing.

Story·Charlotte Moore, age 12 — A lonely girl exploring a castle during a field trip gets trapped in a closet and meets Jane, a mysterious servant girl who wants to be best friends forever.

Poetry·Amity Doyle, age 11 — A year cycles through in verse, each month captured in its own stanza with sensory details of weather, nature, and seasonal rituals.

Poetry·Rainer Pasca, age 14 — A child imagines living inside a snow globe where friends appear during a blizzard, counting snowflakes and jumping like glitter in the swirling water.

Poetry·Rainer Pasca, age 14 — A sensory-rich prose poem captures the disorienting joy of falling into snow, where time slows and the world transforms into crystal whispers and flying lights.

Poetry·Avery DiBella, age 10 — Snow falls like a skydiver, melts like ice cream, disappears like a sad song, but promises to return in winter.

Poetry·Avery DiBella, age 10 — A child's meditation on the moon as companion, comparing it to stars, dreams, a howling dog, and a soft pillow in a series of short, fragmented verses.

Story·Bea Hertzmark, age 10 — A girl writes to her absent friend Tom during a school day, memories of a lake and a letter breaking through her attempts to focus on lessons.