memory

Poetry·Mark Roberts, age 10 — A boy recounts the aftermath of a crash he can't remember, describing the physical trauma and how others see him differently while he remains the same inside.

Story·Marie Agnello, age 12 — A twelve-year-old discovers seventy-five letters from 1919-1923 between her great-grandmother and a French pen pal, Cécile, who died at age twenty.

Poetry·Alexa Bryn, age 11 — A granddaughter observes her grandfather's dementia, as Holocaust memories resurface while present moments fade, yet his gentle spirit and their bond remain intact.

Story·Teresa Cotsirilos, age 13 — A second-grader leaves school early for a phone call from her father's childhood nurse in Greece, navigating language barriers and discovering her connection to a namesake grandmother.

Story·Leah Sausjord Karlins, age 12 — Leaving her family's beach house for the last time this summer, a girl recalls memories of swimming, sailing, and sea turtles while dreading the return to school schedules.

Story·Mara Elizabeth Lasky, age 13 — After her house burns down, Angela returns to sift through the ashes, finds her parents' charred wedding photo, and finally allows herself to grieve before reconciling with her mother.

Poetry·Mark Roberts, age 11 — A wooden treasure box carved from Australian jarrah wood tells its centuries-long journey from forest to sailing ship ballast to African railroad ties, now holding memories.

Story·Ingrid Johnson, age 12 — A boy befriends the new girl in kindergarten over a shared pear, abandons her when teased, then seeks redemption years later by offering her another pear.

Story·Luria Rittenberg, age 12 — A grandmother tells her granddaughter how, as a six-year-old lost in a blizzard, she was saved after kissing a mezuzah on a stranger's door—where her future husband found her.

Story·Sharon Wang, age 12 — A mother tells her daughter about strangers who helped her stuck car in a blizzard years ago, and how she repaid their kindness by helping others on snowy roads.