animals

Poetry·Anya Geist, age 12 — A nocturnal tour through a small town captures the quiet life of buildings, objects, and creatures after dark, from creaking floorboards to a bobbing pond raft.

Story·Dennis Losett, age 11 — A family hiking near Sorrento encounters a brown dog they name Figadindi after local cactus pears, who accompanies them through changing landscapes before disappearing as quietly as he appeared.

Poetry·Vidhat Kartik, age 9 — A young poet cycles through the seasons with rhyming couplets, capturing each season's distinctive markers from falling leaves to fireworks to hibernating bears.

Story·Mira Johnson, age 8 — A sycamore tree named Triffle shelters a wounded bunny from a hunting dog, using her special soap to heal the bunny's injury.

Story·Adam Smith, age 10 — A boy describes an idyllic natural scene with waterfall, river, and wildlife, finding pure happiness in nature's beauty before returning home to dream of it.

Poetry·Kathleen Werth, age 8 — A young writer explores identity through an 'I AM' poem format, weaving together dreams of unicorns, talking dogs, and the worry of dying too soon.

Poetry·Irene Surprenant, age 8 — A wave narrates its experiences through changing weather, from gentle shore-lapping to tsunamis, lamenting pollution while celebrating the cycle of marine life.

Poetry·Katie Turk, age 11 — A wolf moves through a moonlit forest after rain, howls to awaken the night creatures, then watches as the forest comes alive around him.

Story·Freya Jones, age 13 — A 13-year-old chronicles raising her 4-H pig Ash from spring to fair, knowing she'll have to sell him for slaughter, wrestling with love and loss.

Story·Rose Zimmerman, age 7 — A family camping on their way to Oregon encounters bears eating their leftovers under the stars, turning a routine stop into a magical moment.