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Story·Emmy J. X. Wong, age 12 — A twelve-year-old girl struggles with her widowed father's engagement to Jessica, fearing the loss of their special bond, until the wedding ceremony reveals she's being invited into a new family,...

Poetry·Peter Satterthwaite, age 13 — A peaceful pond scene transforms when a dead swan is discovered, prompting questions about death, grief, and the aggressive mourning behavior of its companions.

Poetry·Laurel Gibson, age 12 — A single yellow leaf spirals down in an autumn forest, becoming a bright spot of color among the brown fallen leaves on a cloudy day.

Poetry·Malini Gandhi, age 13 — A seven-year-old in New Delhi sees street children from her car window and understands for the first time what her mother meant about children dying in the world.

Poetry·Mina Alexandra Oates, age 7 — A winter morning at a lake where steam rises, ducks linger, and observers choose traffic over stillness, missing the quiet moment.

Story·Dylan J. Sauder, age 13 — A boy hiding in an abandoned Paris theatre discovers ghostly musicians are his mother's orchestra, leading him to his grandfather, the famous conductor Alexandre Mierceles.

Poetry·Eden Amital, age 13 — Gulls fly between mountain peaks while the immobile rocks' shadows dance below, exploring the contrast between movement and stillness in a landscape.

Story·Josepha Natzke, age 13 — A magnificent buck stands guard at forest's edge, sensing danger, then battles a hungry cougar to protect the sleeping does and fawns.

Story·Lizzy Teerlink, age 13 — A young boy in 1950s Chicago waits for Christmas morning when a reindeer mysteriously enters his bedroom, leaving him with a magical encounter he'll never forget.

Poetry·Dylan Sherman, age 10 — White becomes a meditation on beauty and renewal through images of doves, snow, sails, and roses emerging from ashes.