friendship

Story·Lia Clark, age 13 — In 1953, an eight-year-old Black girl secretly befriends a white girl through a hole in the fence dividing their neighborhoods, until Brown v. Board changes everything.

Story·Julia Lockwood, age 12 — A girl who visits graves meets the ghost of Ada Lee Clemmons, an eleven-year-old who died in 1907, and realizes she's been keeping the forgotten child company.

Poetry·Andy Wu, age 10 — A child's meditation on the moon's solitude, repeating and varying descriptions that emphasize its loneliness and unique relationship with Earth.

Story·Kate Choi, age 11 — Seventh graders torment a new student who attends class via video call, only to discover she has a disability when she finally arrives in person.

Story·Peyton Jacobe, age 12 — After her parakeet dies, a girl receives a stone from a quiet classmate, then passes it to a grieving neighbor, discovering how small acts of kindness ripple outward.

Story·Frances Brogan, age 11 — After her family cancels their annual carnival trip, an eleven-year-old runs away by bus to Lancaster, only to be immediately driven back home by her friend's mother.

Story·Natalie Warnke, age 12 — A princess locked in a tower escapes during an attack on her castle, meets a girl living behind a waterfall, and finds a new home after losing everything.

Story·Kaya Simcoe, age 11 — A girl discovers that paradise isn't just a California beach but something she carries with her, from hotel rooms to airplane windows to her New York apartment.

Story·Ella Glodek, age 11 — A girl befriends a blind harmonica player outside a store, giving him her candy money daily until one day he vanishes, leaving her changed.

Story·Jem Burch, age 13 — A reluctant teenager dragged to a Ghanaian village for Christmas discovers friendship and joy through a local tradition of chasing chickens.