authentic voice

Story·Dani Bergman Chudnow, age 11 — On her eleventh birthday, a girl reluctantly plays baseball with a younger neighbor, accidentally hits him with a line drive, and learns about forgiveness when he immediately wants to keep...

Story·Megan Petty, age 11 — A dog befriends a pregnant wolf cast out from her pack, ultimately choosing to protect her from a hunter and join the wild to prove dogs and wolves can live...

Story·Rachel Keirstead, age 13 — After her grandmother's death, Addie receives a mysterious locket and coded letter that reveal her grandmother's love story and a message about happiness.

Story·Freya Trefonides, age 12 — A teenager watches her four-year-old cousin Rose repeatedly climb things she shouldn't, capturing a perfect photo of Rose in her special apple tree before realizing this moment might be forgotten.

Story·Ryan Kearns, age 12 — A family takes their cancer-stricken dog Maddy to her beloved beach one last time, where she briefly finds the strength to play before being put to sleep the next day.

Poetry·Leila Yaghmaei, age 12 — A first-person retelling of the Icarus myth captures the exhilaration of flight and terror of falling through breathless, punctuation-sparse prose that mirrors the experience.

Story·Emily Grant, age 12 — A golden stallion who killed a girl's father returns months later, saves her from a barn fire, and earns the family's forgiveness.

Poetry·Jason Fong, age 11 — A young poet confronts racist taunts of 'Go back to Asia' by questioning where anyone truly belongs, reminding us that only Native Americans aren't immigrants to this land.

Story·Ella Jane Lombard, age 13 — In 1976 apartheid South Africa, a boy secretly joins student uprisings until police arrest his mother, forcing him to send his siblings to safety and flee to join guerrilla fighters.

Poetry·Zinnia Schwartz, age 10 — A sudden storm transforms a sunny afternoon in the park, sending a child running and slipping on raindrops as darkness overtakes the day.