friendship

Story·Alexandra Orczyk, age 12 — A girl loses her childhood best friend when their families take opposite sides during the American Revolution's Stamp Act crisis, their final parting at a harbor as he sails away.

Story·Devon Davila, age 12 — A girl named Yellow Rose navigates grief, loneliness, and her father's new girlfriend until a chance encounter with a neighbor opens a door to friendship.

Story·Allie Aguila, age 11 — A girl with amnesia wakes on a beach, joins a group of free children, and learns to fly by believing in herself—until she wakes from the dream.

Story·Joshua Bernheisel, age 10 — After his mother's death, a boy who once hated writing discovers fiction and publishes a book dedicated to her memory, finding friendship with his former bully.

Poetry·Zoe Savishinsky, age 12 — A poem confronts a classmate who casually weaponized the speaker's adoption status, exploring how thoughtless words can shatter trust and leave lasting wounds.

Story·Abigail Kelly, age 9 — A new fourth-grader navigates between popular girls who mock imaginative play and Phyllis, who plays animal games like her old best friend used to.

Story·Melissa Smith, age 13 — A sixth-grader reluctantly rehearsing for his church's Christmas play gains new understanding of the shepherds' sacrifice when he postpones his birthday party to visit his injured elderly neighbor.

Story·Anna Harrington, age 11 — A girl whose mother died when she was six moves constantly with her father until Miami promises permanence—but that promise breaks too, teaching her home is wherever loved ones are.

Story·Chappell Sargent, age 12 — Ellen struggles with the end of sixth grade as half her classmates leave for different schools, but finds peace by reconnecting with a friend who's staying.

Story·Mailyn Fidler — A German girl bullied for her old-fashioned name finds friendship with an American newcomer, then saves her from Neo-Nazi teenagers threatening her for money.