death

Poetry·Isaac Goodman, age 9 — A whale mourns his sister's death at human hands, his mournful song misunderstood as beautiful by those who hear it.

Poetry·Hayden Brame, age 13 — A child who once wished on stars for fun now wishes for more time with someone dying, then takes back the wish to end their suffering.

Story·Benet Dawn Stoen, age 11 — A girl moves to the South Pole with her scientist parents, befriends a local boy who runs away after a painful memory surfaces, then nearly dies of hypothermia while searching...

Story·Alex Carmona, age 12 — A wolf pup who lost her family in a blizzard encounters a grieving girl who lost her dog, and through their connection, the wolf brings her blind brother to the...

Story·Shyla DeLand, age 10 — A girl's beloved hunting dog Fern is fatally injured and crawls away to die among the sweet ferns, where a mysterious pink flower later blooms.

Story·Rachel Keirstead, age 13 — After her grandmother's death, Addie receives a mysterious locket and coded letter that reveal her grandmother's love story and a message about happiness.

Story·Ryan Kearns, age 12 — A family takes their cancer-stricken dog Maddy to her beloved beach one last time, where she briefly finds the strength to play before being put to sleep the next day.

Poetry·Leila Yaghmaei, age 12 — A first-person retelling of the Icarus myth captures the exhilaration of flight and terror of falling through breathless, punctuation-sparse prose that mirrors the experience.

Story·Emily Grant, age 12 — A golden stallion who killed a girl's father returns months later, saves her from a barn fire, and earns the family's forgiveness.

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.