garden

Story·Madaline Klassen — A farming couple who despise cats accidentally bring home two from the shelter, then discover the resulting litter makes perfect garden tillers.

Poetry·Grace Zhuang — A young poet captures summer through garden growth, beach days, and songs, ending with a wistful plea for the season to remain.

Story·Allison Hansford — A lyrical catalog of a garden's inhabitants — leaves, trees, bushes, flowers, birds, and bugs — celebrates nature's overwhelming abundance and mystery.

Story·Evangeline Gustavson — A woman nurtures a mysterious seedling that grows into an extraordinary plant, dies, and leaves offspring; after her death, she reunites with the plant's true spirit—a boy.

Poetry·Sofie Dardzinski — A single sentence captures a backyard workspace where ivy with emerald-like leaves points toward a brick patio, covering curved stone underfoot.

Story·Sophie Daniel — During a thunderstorm, a frightened girl and her mother share their fears, leading the girl to discover courage as the storm passes and flowers bloom.

Poetry·Nova Macknik-Conde — During a car ride to a new home, a child imagines creating an elaborate roof garden filled with flowers, vegetables, and herbs.

Poetry·Enni Harlan — Siblings build a twig house in a clover field after rain, only to find their creation destroyed by gardeners the next day.

Poetry·Sophia Famolari, age 9 — A poem traces a plant's journey from sprout breaking through soil to flower blooming in sunlight, celebrating each stage of growth.

Personal Narrative·Teresa He, age 11 — A girl recalls three years of observing squirrels, rabbits, and birds from her Illinois home's windows before returning to China.