July/August 2006

Story·Emina S. Sonnad, age 11 — A homesick Hawaiian girl meets an exuberant neighbor in an Oregon meadow who shows her a secret grove of cherry blossoms, where she glimpses their future friendship in a frozen...

Poetry·Marissa Bergman, age 12 — A girl dismisses her younger sister's childish questions about color until the sister's drawing reveals how she sees their shared moment in pink-hearted wonder.

Story·Mackenzie Hollister, age 12 — A girl recalls her last perfect day with her grandfather in Michigan, discovering a secret pond they called the Animal Kingdom, before he died of cancer months later.

Story·Erin Bennett, age 11 — A shy girl visits a special oak tree at night where the ghost of her friend appears to tell her a cautionary tale about finding her voice.