sensory richness

Poetry·Max Mendelsohn, age 12 — A celebration of marbles through their sounds, colors, and textures, comparing them to children playing and stars lighting up the world.

Story·Sophia Stid, age 10 — A girl wakes at a family cabin called the Cedars, joins morning rituals including the 'Oh Joe' bell, and prepares for a hike with grandparents and cousins.

Story·Veronica Engler, age 15 — A young woman becomes the first female bull rider to attempt the Championships, facing down Widow Maker, a bull unridden for seven years.

Poetry·Natalie Fine, age 12 — A night in a vibrant city comes alive through sensory details — dancing on cobblestones, lights on water, sleeping on doorsteps under a diamond-filled sky.

Poetry·Rosemary Engelfried, age 13 — A Pacific Northwest autumn storm transforms Douglas firs and ocean cliffs into a world of fog, rain, and distant waves.

Story·Marlee Rosenthal, age 12 — A girl's memory of discovering chicken pot pie with her aunt transforms an ordinary Thursday dinner at Ponzio's into a sensory celebration of family tradition.

Story·Marian Homans-Turnbull, age 13 — A girl's last morning on a Nova Scotia island turns into a fog-bound adventure when their boat gets lost, leading to an unexpected sail on a schooner.

Story·Caroline Lu, age 10 — A girl narrates her family's early morning departure from North Carolina to Texas, struggling to accept leaving the only home she's ever known.

Story·Natania Field, age 13 — A volunteer firefighter rescues a boy from a burning house, reliving memories of being saved from a fire by his sister years earlier.

Poetry·Emma Kilgore Hine, age 13 — A girl observes her cat Trixie sleeping on the dining room table, cataloging each gesture and sound with tender attention and affection.