fear

Story·Lucy Laird, age 12 — A melodramatic sixth-grader faces her turn at kickball, convinced she'll die of embarrassment, spiraling through existential revelations before being saved by the lunch bell.

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.

Story·Audrey Young, age 11 — A physically timid girl who has failed at every sport finally learns to ride a bike, discovering freedom and confidence in the process.

Personal Narrative·Alina Khilchenko, age 11 — A girl's excitement about becoming a big sister turns to grief when her mother miscarries, teaching her about loss and the fragility of hope.

Story·Panagiotis Apatsidis Gunaratnam, age 9 — When Mike disappears from school, detectives follow clues through a haunted palace and time machine to rescue him from the Stone Age.

Poetry·Daniel Shorten, age 9 — A child's fragmented memories of a play or film screening blur with overheard dialogue, creating an unsettling meditation on mortality and childhood observation.

Story·Michaela Frey, age 12 — A foster child who lost her voice after trauma struggles to speak again, remembering the woman who silenced her years ago.

Personal Narrative·Kateri Escober Doran, age 12 — Two kindergarteners get locked out of their classroom during a bathroom break and must overcome their fears and rivalry to find help together.

Poetry·Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer, age 13 — On New Year's Eve in Pucón, local teenagers slaughter a lamb for tourists' supper while a volcano erupts, creating a moment of apocalyptic tension.

Poetry·Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer, age 13 — A brief meditation on seeking shelter when life becomes difficult, using the metaphor of running downhill in a storm to find a cave with light.