atmospheric setting

Story·Simon Reis, age 11 — A boy encounters a mysterious neighbor who claims to be Beethoven reincarnated, offering musical genius in exchange for sharing his deafness and suffering.

Story·Sarah Shissler, age 12 — A writer recalls her first trip to Alaska ten years ago, where she befriended a pack of wolves—Lakota, Pike, and Kepa—and witnessed their struggles to survive through a brutal winter.

Story·Kirsten Moon, age 13 — A girl visits her mother's grave before moving across the country, bringing roses and struggling to say goodbye until a mysterious breeze brings comfort.

Poetry·Elizabeth Sughrue, age 7 — A child resists bedtime, drawn to the night sounds of peepers, owls, and frogs, until finally answering their mother's last call.

Poetry·Danny Musher, age 11 — A pond at dusk becomes a cradle of stillness as autumn winds rustle reeds, rushes peer at their reflections, and night settles like a soft blanket.

Story·Leah Karker, age 12 — A girl raised on a farm discovers she's a wolf when she finds her birth mother among a wolf pack and transforms to join them.

Poetry·Sarah Kim Perry, age 11 — A single snowflake lands on a windowpane at midnight, becoming a silent witness to candlelight inside and stars outside.

Story·Rebecca Orchard, age 12 — On planet Matia 3, where girls are expected to raise families, Retsina attempts her fourth and final chance to become a Space Cadet, competing against boys in a grueling test.

Story·Meredith Allen, age 12 — Two bored suburban kids venture into the swamp seeking a legendary hermit, encounter an alligator, and are saved by the very man they sought.

Story·Jack Mesich — A mother cheetah hunts to feed her cubs, then saves them from a grass fire sparked by lightning, losing one cub before finding her again.