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Story·Katey Storey, age 13 — A girl recalls summers at her family's Maine house, exploring tide pools and climbing Cannon Rock, where she collected sea glass and dreamed of becoming a marine biologist.

Story·Alex Chan-Kai, age 11 — A boy ignores earthquake warnings to go skateboarding with his friend, then gets trapped when a major quake hits the skate park and the building collapses.

Story·Jessica Libor, age 13 — A girl falls from a tree house in 1949 and awakens from a seventeen-year coma to find her family aged, her best friend married to her brother, and the boy...

Poetry·Mark Roberts, age 10 — A boy remembers his grandmother through the landscape she loved — hot air balloons, hilltop trees, vineyards — and the moment of scattering her ashes.

Story·Max Strebel, age 11 — A boy reluctantly leaves his TV show to help with chores, befriends a squirrel, attempts to rescue it from a hawk, and discovers a new connection to nature.

Story·Jill Cooley, age 13 — A young ballet dancer overcomes stage fright to perform as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, discovering that her emotional connection to dance matters more than technical perfection.

Poetry·Connor Park, age 12 — A young reader searches library shelves until discovering a forgotten red book with gold lettering that promises adventure despite its brevity.

Poetry·Sonja Skye Wooley, age 12 — A midnight journey from bed to kitchen for milk captures the disorienting sensory details of being awake at 3:30 A.M.

Story·Sophia Emmert, age 13 — A deaf girl discovers she can feel music through vibrations when her teacher shows her how to play piano barefoot, finding her voice through the instrument.

Story·Allie Aguila, age 11 — A girl with amnesia wakes on a beach, joins a group of free children, and learns to fly by believing in herself—until she wakes from the dream.