loss

Story·Emily Worrell, age 12 — In 1940s America, a girl defies gender expectations to join the local baseball league, facing down the hostile coach and proving herself with a crucial home run.

Story·Shyla DeLand, age 11 — After a weasel kills her beloved rooster Cocky, a girl struggles with guilt over loving a new chick until her mother helps her understand that loving again doesn't betray the...

Story·Sadie Robb, age 13 — A girl recounts the night her beloved family country home burned down, leaving her with physical and emotional scars that teach her about loss and memory.

Story·Kira Householder, age 11 — A girl secretly cares for a wolf in the woods, sneaking out at night to bring him food, until a forest fire takes his life and she discovers he left...

Story·Jenny Li, age 11 — During wartime, a boy trains doves to carry messages and inadvertently saves his occupied city when the birds reach the wrong army unit, though his father never returns.

Story·Melissa Birchfield, age 13 — A girl reluctant to accept a new piano teacher after her grandmother's death discovers she can honor memories while embracing new beginnings through music.

Story·Hannah Ogden, age 13 — A family drives through the night to grandparents' house after eviction, their old truck barely making it as a girl reflects on loss and uncertain futures.

Story·Abigail D'Agosta and Kendra Sommers, age 13 — After her father loses his job, a girl moves from a suburban house to a rural farm, resisting the change until a friendship with neighbor Willa helps her find home...

Poetry·Caroline Thompson, age 12 — A young person addresses someone who left without explanation, cycling through questions, pleas, and the haunting memory of their whispered apology.

Poetry·Sydney Pardo, age 13 — A poem of lost childhood intimacy between cousins or friends, marked by shared memories of orchards, butterfly funerals, and the gulf that opens when one becomes a teenager.