books

Personal Narrative·Lara Fraenkel, age 11 — A girl traces her evolving understanding of clouds from childhood fantasies of cotton candy and fairies to learning the water cycle in school, finding wonder in scientific truth.

Story·Tristan Hui, age 14 — A girl falls through her apartment floor into another realm where she teams up with a refugee shelter volunteer to steal a car and journey to the mysterious island of...

Poetry·Cora Burch, age 13 — At 4 AM, a girl reads a beloved book while reflecting on how beauty and peace persist alongside the pandemic's ongoing tragedy.

Story·Lila C. Kassouf, age 12 — A girl obsessed with solving bank robberies discovers her mother's hidden past when she finds old letters from her estranged poet aunt.

Personal Narrative·Kaydence Sweitzer, age 9 — A child reading in a blanket fort is frightened by strange noises at night, tears damaging their library book before discovering it's just the wind.

Poetry·Amber Zhao, age 10 — A young poet describes the moment of completing a poem, exploring the paradox of creation—how words become both fragile and eternal, personal and universal.

Personal Narrative·Norah Grigoresco, age 10 — After returning from Chile, a first-grader struggles with English reading until determination and practice transform her from level B to level Q, the highest in her class.

Poetry·Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer, age 13 — A young writer celebrates the allure of books, describing how words flow across pages with emotion and wisdom, naming beloved authors.

Poetry·Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer, age 13 — A granddaughter discovers her grandfather's old Russian typewriter in a shoe closet and types her name on it, connecting past and present through the dusty keys.

Poetry·Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer, age 13 — A young poet traces Dostoevsky's footsteps through his former spaces, feeling his presence in stairs, doors, and pages as a white night falls on St. Petersburg.