US Common Core ELA

Poetry·Yutia Li, age 9 — A playful cosmic origin story traces from a tiny speck's explosion through the Big Bang to Earth's formation and the first single-celled life.

Poetry·Sterling Waterfield, age 11 — A young philosopher questions why things are named what they are, why humans dominate, and ultimately decides to accept the world's strange design.

Poetry·Kieran O'Donnell, age 11 — A philosophical meditation on how cold is merely the absence of heat, exploring the nature of opposites and what truly exists versus what we perceive.

Story·Thomas Faulhaber, age 13 — In a world where middlenames determine destiny, a boy named Robin Burke struggles with his musical heritage until riots against the naming system expose its fundamental flaw.

Poetry·Karinne Ulrey, age 10 — Night falls on a city where stoplights reflect off water, distant conversations drift on the breeze, and a lone car crosses a scarlet bridge.

Poetry·Karinne Ulrey, age 10 — Night falls on a city where stoplights reflect off water, distant conversations drift through air, and a lone car crosses a scarlet bridge.

Story·Lucy Zanker, age 11 — A girl and her robotic brother accidentally launch themselves into space on their father's NASA rocket, forcing her to disassemble him to return home safely.

Poetry·Ana Carpenter, age 10 — A girl imagines being queen of the world, floating above in moonlight and clouds, but discovers the weight of such power and chooses ordinary life instead.

Story·Elisabeth Baer, age 10 — A magical clock that regulates emotions is thrown away by its bitter owner, journeys through the ocean depths, meets the empress of the sea, and finds a new home with...

Poetry·Rebecca Beaver, age 13 — A speaker confronts the loss of their heart to the moon, becoming a whisper of their former self in this surreal exploration of identity and emptiness.