adventure

Story·Gracie Shapiro, age 12 — A girl searches for her grandfather and together they engineer a tree swing using a bow and arrow to get the rope over a high branch.

Poetry·Anne Brandes, age 12 — A girl journeys through fields and past a mill to a windowsill where, with pencil and paper, she begins to write as if the page were a ballroom.

Story·Sawyer McCloskey, age 13 — A bullied boy runs away into the Canadian wilderness, survives alone for days, and discovers his supposedly dead father has been living in the forest after being kidnapped years ago.

Story·Emory MacLaughlin, age 13 — A girl accompanies her stubborn friend into a forbidden forest to prove his bravery, only to encounter Shape Stealers—creatures that mimic humans—and flee when she can't distinguish friend from monster.

Story·Edie Koehlert and Chloe Weber — Three young cats journey to find a new home after their dying mother sends them away, guided by their deceased father's cryptic message about believing in possibilities.

Story·Bethany Walker, age 13 — Two cousins exploring a Florida ranch forest encounter wildlife and flee in panic from an alligator sunning on a canal bank, later laughing at their overreaction.

Story·Sinnon Gonzalez, age 11 — A boy describes the wild freedom he feels on a roller coaster, contrasting his adventurous summer self with his serious school personality.

Story·Rosalie Stoner, age 12 — A boy in 1903 Kitty Hawk befriends the Wright brothers, shares their struggles and setbacks, and becomes the first passenger to fly with them on December 17th.

Story·Makayla Hentges, age 12 — A wolf-dog named Shannon saves her musher from drowning in an icy lake but sacrifices herself in the process, appearing later as a ghostly figure in the mist.

Story·Sean Fay, age 11 — A boy goes skating alone on a winter lake, ventures too far out in worsening weather, falls through thin ice, and barely makes it home alive.