family

Story·Eve Driver, age 13 — During a thunderstorm, a thirteen-year-old searches for his younger brother who ran away after a cruel argument, finding him at the tree where their parents met.

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·Freya Trefonides, age 12 — A teenager watches her four-year-old cousin Rose repeatedly climb things she shouldn't, capturing a perfect photo of Rose in her special apple tree before realizing this moment might be forgotten.

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·Olivia Michelle Smit, age 13 — A ten-year-old Sioux boy participates in his first buffalo hunt, kills the largest buffalo in the herd, and earns his adult name, Buffalo Spirit.

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·Ani Wilcenski, age 11 — A boy watches snow transform the landscape and records the lives of forest creatures, while his father sees only an eyesore to remove.

Poetry·Jason Fong, age 11 — A young poet confronts racist taunts of 'Go back to Asia' by questioning where anyone truly belongs, reminding us that only Native Americans aren't immigrants to this land.