family

Story·Jessica Blanton, age 12 — A girl finds her late mother's locket in her backpack, triggering memories of her fourth birthday party and the day her mother died in a car accident.

Story·Holly Wist, age 13 — While searching for a book, a girl finds her sister's forgotten box of seashells, triggering a memory of an Easter trip where she lost a found conch shell but gained...

Story·Natalia M. Thompson, age 11 — A girl who stopped speaking Spanish to avoid classmates' mockery finds solace in the woods and resolves to reclaim her heritage language.

Story·Betty Julia Rosen, age 12 — A young violist struggles with harsh criticism and self-doubt before finding confidence through an orchestra audition, culminating in both musical success and a first date.

Story·Natalie Wittenbrook, age 11 — A twelve-year-old girl whose father hunts wolves for pelts rescues an orphaned wolf pup and, with help from the Animal Society, eventually convinces her father to stop commercial hunting.

Poetry·Brendan Cunningham, age 8 — A boy captures his father through three vivid scenes: carpenter at his desk, football coach on the field, and dad reading bedtime stories.

Story·Lauren Boersma, age 11 — During the 1953 Netherlands flood, twelve-year-old Sieke is separated from her family and spends a terrifying night caring for a lost little girl before both are reunited with their families.

Story·Will Ilgen — A Union soldier at Gettysburg confronts the death of his best friend while wrestling with memories of his father and the meaning of war as 'a game of chess.'

Story·Emma Loizeaux, age 11 — A girl recalls waking at 4:30 AM to climb Panther Mountain with her mother and grandparents, eating hard-boiled eggs while watching the sunrise from the summit.

Story·Philip Grayeski, age 11 — A boy bonds with his grandfather through fishing trips and flying lessons in the Red Comet plane, then inherits the aircraft after his grandfather's death from cancer.