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Poetry·Courtney Cooperman, age 12 — A fifth-grader reflects on the finality of elementary school's last day, from yearbook signings to the bell's final ring that marks the end of childhood routines.

Story·Rachel Keirstead, age 12 — A girl devastated by moving from Ohio to New Jersey finds hope when she discovers an outdoor club at her new school and makes a friend who shares her love...

Story·Natalie Han, age 11 — An eleven-year-old reflects on how her relationship with her older brother has changed as they've grown up, remembering their imaginative games and missing their closeness.

Story·Joyce Chen, age 13 — A fourth-grader dreads wearing her new glasses to school but discovers both clear vision and unexpected acceptance from classmates when forced to put them on.

Story·Genna Carroll, age 13 — While packing to move, a teenager discovers a story she wrote at age nine that eerily predicts her current situation of leaving her childhood room.

Story·Chappell Sargent — While packing to move, a teenager discovers stories she wrote at age nine, including one that eerily predicts her current situation of leaving her childhood room.

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.

Story·Anonymous, Illustrated by Madeleine Gates — A seven-year-old moves from California to Chicago, struggles with homesickness and lost friendships, then finds connection through soccer and a new friend named Jonathan.

Poetry·Isabella Ainsworth, age 11 — An 11-year-old processes her parents' divorce through a poem that moves from suppressed tears to overwhelming grief, cataloging each source of pain.

Story·Alison Lanza, age 12 — Three sisters reluctantly move to a new house, discover a magical sphere that grants three wishes, and use them to find their lost dog and build a treehouse.