memory

Story·Emily Waxman, age 10 — A girl prepares for prom in 1946, wearing a dress made from her brother's WWII parachute, reflecting on family sacrifice and finding beauty in hardship.

Story·Annakai Hayakawa Geshlider, age 12 — A boy discovers his grandparents' chest of diaries in the attic, reading accounts from a homeless man, a Japanese-American internment camp, and a 90-year-old woman, ultimately deciding to start his...

Story·Abbie Brubaker, age 13 — A girl recounts the life and death of her beloved white cat Moon, from finding her as a kitten at a yard sale to her tragic death under a car's...

Story·Jonathan Morris, age 12 — An elf boy searches for rare ashberries to save a dragonfire victim, remembering how the same berries failed to save his father years before.

Story·Halle Kershisnik, age 12 — Two childhood friends are separated when their families move to different states, then reunite by chance years later at college in Chicago.

Story·Ariel Mia larovici Katz, age 13 — A girl alone in a gray house during her parents' divorce remembers losing her only friend years ago, then discovers singing as an outlet for her pain.

Story·William Gwaltney, age 13 — In 1947 Roswell, a rancher finds mysterious metal debris and strange beings in his pasture, leading to government intervention and lifelong consequences for those who touched the fragments.

Poetry·Ashok Kaul, age 11 — A five-year-old's fragmented memories of September 11th capture confusion through misheard words and the sudden absence of the towers.

Story·Aja Corliss, age 12 — A nervous ballerina at Nationals finds calm and rediscovers her love of dance when moonlight creates a private spotlight outside the auditorium.

Story·William Gwaltney, age 13 — During WWI's Christmas truce of 1914, a young soldier gives his aunt's ugly sweater to a sick German soldier who returns it decades later on a lonely Christmas Eve.