magic

Story·Callia Rodgers — After her mother dies in childbirth, a girl defies orders to stay out of the forest and discovers she's inherited magical powers to protect it from shadow creatures.

Poetry·Luka Simpson-Khan — A witch narrates her daily routine of potion-making, mushroom hunting, fortune-telling, and mirror-breaking, all told with playful rhyming couplets.

Story·Chelsea Guo — A wizard who weaves people's fates with glimmering strings realizes the cruelty of his mischief when he sees a boy he cursed years later caring for a sick parent.

Story·Ayla Schultz, age 13 — A girl crosses a desert alone, finds shelter in a mysterious house with an old woman who gives her a glass dragon, then wakes in town unsure if the house...

Story·Josh Miller, age 10 — A skilled hunter rejected by her village for not conforming to gender roles discovers a cloud city where women hunt and men weave, then returns home to acceptance.

Story·Elia Smith, age 11 — A girl puzzled by magic's selective protection during a storm discovers through dreams and her sister's unexpected kindness that magic exists in everyday moments and reconnected relationships.

Story·Kara Peter, age 13 — In a drought-stricken African village where everything is brown, a girl searching for mythical blue wishing stones accidentally throws one into the muddy river, transforming it to crystal clear water.