July/August 2016

Poetry·Anamaria Grieco, age 13 — A child drifts to sleep in a hammock, moving from stillness through sunset to starlight, cradled by gentle swinging and soft sounds.

Poetry·Ellanora Lerner, age 13 — A teenager finds solitude at abandoned railroad tracks, contemplating how nature reclaims human progress and feeling the ghost of trains that once passed.

Poetry·Edie Patterson, age 10 — A meditation on leaving paradise, watching cars diverge on a canyon highway while coyotes howl and a finch lifts off into morning light.

Book Review·Erin Entrada Kelly, Reviewed by Ramsey E. Stephenson — Blackbird Fly, by Erin Entrada Kelly; Greenwillow Press: New York, 2015; $16.99 Have you ever longed and hoped for something you never had? Like blue eyes, or soft yellow hair?...

Book Review·John Rocco and Jay Primiano, Reviewed by Christian Rice — Swim That Rock, by John Rocco and Jay Primiano; Candlewick Press: Somerville, Massachusetts, 2014; $16.99 If you want a book with daring adventures and even pirates (gasp), then Swim That...

Story·Sonja Skye Wooley, age 12 — Two young scientists searching for Atlantis in the Pacific get caught in a storm, crash on an uncharted island, and discover the lost city underwater just offshore.

Story·Annabel M. Smith, age 11 — A girl meets a stranger in a McDonald's parking lot who shows her a photo of his deceased dog that looks exactly like hers, creating an unexpected moment of connection.

Story·Benjamin Mollborn, age 12 — A Native American boy witnesses his father's murder by settlers and is captured, then helped to escape by the warden's son who recognizes the injustice.

Story·Devon Davila, age 11 — A girl frozen with fear on the high dive gets pushed by her best friend, then finds comfort with a new friend who shares her own story of loneliness.

Story·Hannah Awbrey, age 12 — A boy meets a strange girl on the beach who believes her mother is a mermaid and nearly leads him to his death trying to join her, but saves him...