mountains

Personal Narrative·Alicia Xin, age 13 — A privileged teen volunteers at a camp in rural China's Liangshan mountains, where friendships with local Yi children reveal the true meaning of gratitude.

Poetry·Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer, age 13 — On New Year's Eve in Pucón, local teenagers slaughter a lamb for tourists' supper while a volcano erupts, creating a moment of apocalyptic tension.

Poetry·Zeke Braman, age 9 — A young poet climbs a mountain path, sensing ancestral footsteps and wanting to merge with the landscape's accumulated stories and secrets.

Story·Julia Hershon, age 11 — During an asteroid attack on her French village, a farm girl and her new classmate Clara rescue a young boy and flee to the mountains, where Evangeline reunites with her...

Story·Sierra Glassman, age 13 — A young crane faces exhaustion, cold, and an eagle attack during his first migration over the Himalayas, finally reaching safety in a warm field.

Poetry·Gwen Deutsch, age 12 — A girl watches wild horses thunder down a Wyoming mountain, experiencing the landscape through all her senses in a moment of overwhelming beauty.

Poetry·Sophie Nerine, age 12 — A car journey through a mountain valley becomes a meditation on the overwhelming beauty of landscape and the intrusion of human presence.

Story·Jane Westrick, age 12 — A young climber encounters a cougar on a mountain ledge and saves herself by singing the same lullaby she once used to tame her childhood cat.

Story·Ryan G. Braun, age 10 — A 10-year-old recounts Hannibal's ambush of Roman forces at Lake Trasimene in 217 BC, detailing military preparations, strategy, and the devastating Carthaginian victory.

Story·Emily Villano, age 7 — A wild white mare evades capture through generations, teaching her foal survival before accepting her own mortality in the crystal mountains.