atmospheric setting

Story·Krystle DiCristofalo, age 12 — Three friends exploring an abandoned house discover photographs in the basement showing children who look exactly like them, wearing the same old clothes they've been trying on.

Story·Ben Hayes, age 13 — A young angler describes the meditative ritual of dusk fishing on a quiet lake, from paddling out to the explosive moment of catching a keeper.

Poetry·Stella White, age 11 — A girl lies in her father's childhood bed in London, watching trains pass and imagining his life decades earlier in the same room.

Poetry·Sarah Welch, age 11 — A child lies awake in a too-big bed at grandma's house, noticing the dripping faucet and crack of light until sleep finally comes.

Story·Elise Arancio, age 11 — A tomboy navigates her first softball practice, struggling between her natural hitting ability and a coach's instructions that don't feel right to her.

Story·Jenny Li, age 11 — During wartime, a boy trains doves to carry messages and inadvertently saves his occupied city when the birds reach the wrong army unit, though his father never returns.

Story·Hannah Ogden, age 13 — A family drives through the night to grandparents' house after eviction, their old truck barely making it as a girl reflects on loss and uncertain futures.

Story·Eva Rodrigues, age 13 — At a dreaded family cottage, a teenage astronomy enthusiast meets an eccentric boy in mismatched clothes on a rock under the blue moon, finding unexpected connection.

Story·Jenna Fields, age 12 — A fox hunts through moonlit woods, chases a rabbit to an unfamiliar farmhouse, narrowly escapes a human's gunshot, and limps home injured but determined.

Story·Danielle Eagle, age 13 — A girl befriends a mysterious beach companion with shimmering hair and strange abilities, discovering her true nature when caught in a dangerous current.