January/February 2007

Story·Anna Currey, age 12 — Stranded on an island for five days after wrecking her yacht, Mae survives on crabs and snails while watching distant Fourth of July fireworks spark an unexpected epiphany about life's...

Story·Anna Currey, age 12 — Stranded on an island for five days after crashing her boat, Mae survives on crabs and snails while watching distant Fourth of July fireworks spark an epiphany about life's beauty.

Story·Adam Jacobs, age 11 — A boy's Thursday prank of dumping mud on his parents backfires when they transform into pigs, leading to a frantic chase that ends with the revelation it was all a...

Story·Roya Alkamil, age 12 — A Jordanian girl who refuses to make friends at her new American school learns that preserving her identity doesn't require isolation when a classmate reaches out.

Book Review·Lynda Durrant, Reviewed by Hannah Sellers — My Last Skirt: The Story of Jennie Hodgers, Union Soldier by Lynda Durrant; Clarion Books: New York, 2006; $16 To be free can have multiple meanings, but to Jennie Margaret...

Story·Meg Bradley, age 13 — A twelve-year-old girl, alone in an empty house after her father left, discovers that writing poetry can be its own form of comfort when traditional lullabies are gone.

Story·Shannon Halpin, age 12 — A girl angry about moving to a rundown farmhouse discovers a hidden underground room in the barn, leading to reconciliation with her mother.

Poetry·Amanda Johnson, age 13 — A camping night unfolds through sensory moments: smoke rising, crickets chirping, a marshmallow catching fire, and finally the warmth of a sleeping bag as the fire glows through the tent.

Story·William Gwaltney, age 11 — A boy discovers a sea turtle nesting on an evening beach walk and spends his summer secretly protecting the eggs until they hatch.

Story·Sydney Adedamola, age 10 — Rebecca learns she must move away from her three best friends, but three years later discovers she's moving back to her hometown.