animals

Story·Bethany Grace Wade, age 12 — Emma befriends Tansy, a deaf girl visiting with her family, by writing notes back and forth, leading to horseback riding and a promise to be pen pals.

Story·Emily Saso, age 12 — A nine-year-old girl conquers her nerves at her first horse show, struggling through the canter before placing second with her horse Pacino.

Poetry·Anna Preston, age 12 — A frog on a lily pad becomes a graceful dancer, tensing and leaping through rain to catch her dinner with a flick of her tongue.

Story·Brigid Cami, age 13 — A girl rushes through homework to spend thirty minutes by a lake, feeding ducks and contemplating the vast sky and her future.

Poetry·Rory Lipkis, age 9 — A child walks along a canal towpath, observing nature's beauty alongside human intrusion—from dragonflies and turtles to litter and a dying fish.

Story·Alexis Colleen Hosticka, age 12 — A thirteen-year-old who has hidden her love of animals since childhood finally reveals her secret when she volunteers at an animal shelter and falls for a kitten named Cinnamon.

Story·Emily Ward, age 13 — A racing greyhound named Cassie, inspired by a little girl's faith in her, wins her first race but ultimately chooses freedom over fame by escaping through a fence.

Story·Anna Hirtes, age 9 — An orphan girl named Shelly encounters a unicorn in the Magic Forest who saves her from a snake bite, then meets her identical twin Elizabeth.

Poetry·Gabriel Wainio-Theberge, age 12 — Autumn transforms from blazing red leaves and jack-o-lanterns to encroaching night, frost, and brittle mushrooms frozen like victims of Medusa's stare.

Story·Bailey Bergmann, age 12 — After being attacked by a dog as a toddler, Asa struggles with her fear until a friend's puppy needs adoption following a tragic accident.