animals

Story·Simon Reis, age 12 — A young racehorse named Judy Garland faces her fears on a muddy track, gets injured in fog, but places second through determination and discovers meaning beyond victory.

Story·Vera Litvin, age 13 — A boy who dreams of conquering a tiger finds courage to face the school bully by standing his ground in the playground.

Story·Rachel Johnson, age 13 — A Cuban-American boy finds solace and identity through a secret friendship with a bull after his grandmother's death, defying his assimilated family.

Story·Anna Hagen, age 11 — A girl who was found on a beach as a baby discovers through a magical conch shell that she was rescued by whales after her parents' ship capsized.

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·Chris Heinrich, age 13 — A boy on his first duck hunt with his father struggles between wanting to please his dad and his inability to kill the mallard in his sights.

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.

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.

Poetry·Isabel Taylor, age 13 — A young writer expresses the desire to dissolve boundaries between self and nature, imagining feet sinking into dirt, floating as water, swaying in trees.

Story·Leslie Pearsall — After her sister's fatal riding accident, Dylan struggles with her mother's overprotectiveness until her own fall forces her to choose between her passion for horses and her mother's peace of...