adventure

Poetry·Nicky Cannon, age 12 — A roller skater crashes into a puddle but celebrates the joy of the ride despite the muddy, bruised ending.

Poetry·Sophia Lipkin, age 9 — A young rider recalls beloved horses and the exhilarating moment of her first successful jump, feeling her heart soar as Violet leaps into the bright blue sky.

Story·Benet Dawn Stoen, age 11 — A girl moves to the South Pole with her scientist parents, befriends a local boy who runs away after a painful memory surfaces, then nearly dies of hypothermia while searching...

Story·Amanda Kneppel, age 13 — A girl reluctantly follows her friend out her bedroom window at midnight to explore a moonlit field, discovering freedom and wonder in the darkness she once feared.

Story·Arjun Pillai Hausner, age 12 — A kind cow helps a rhino and a bird in the forest, and when a tiger threatens her, they return the favor by rescuing her together.

Story·Mary Jessica Woods, age 13 — A first-person account of racehorse Zenyatta's historic Breeder's Cup Classic victory, narrated from the horse's perspective as she comes from behind to win.

Poetry·Ash Berger, age 12 — A mountain biker becomes one with the trail, feeling every bump and curve while nature cheers them on through forest and stream.

Poetry·John Rager, age 12 — A student on a creek field trip catalogs sky and water discoveries, from mud puppies to scraped knees, reluctant to leave when time runs out.

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·Ethan Levin, age 13 — Two astronauts on a routine mission are redirected to stop a massive meteorite heading for Earth, but fail, crash-landing on the devastated planet to become humanity's new beginning.