nature

Story·Nina Oliva, age 12 — When villagers capture wolf pups for companionship, a girl who frees one is granted the power to speak to wolves and must negotiate peace between the species.

Poetry·Anne Brandes, age 12 — A girl journeys through fields and past a mill to a windowsill where, with pencil and paper, she begins to write as if the page were a ballroom.

Story·Sawyer McCloskey, age 13 — A bullied boy runs away into the Canadian wilderness, survives alone for days, and discovers his supposedly dead father has been living in the forest after being kidnapped years ago.

Poetry·Katie Thomas, age 12 — A prose poem captures the joyful chaos of puppies at play, describing them as a single creature of fur, tongues, and wagging tails.

Story·Sandra Detweiler, age 12 — Two sisters saying goodbye to their favorite cloud-watching spot before moving discover a bird-shaped cloud at their new home by the ocean.

Poetry·Gabrielle Mott, age 8 — Peace arrives like moonlight through a window, then expands into visions of mountain streams, glass-still pools, and fields where doves coo sweetly.

Poetry·Wujun Ke, age 13 — Dawn breaks through trees as birds find their perches, while the speaker breathes in the ancient scents of maple and oak between dreams and waking.

Poetry·Alyssa Cho — Dawn breaks through trees as birds find their perches, while the speaker breathes in the ancient scents of maple and oak between dreams and waking.

Story·Julia Soderholm, age 13 — A young woman finds solace in morning rituals and simple pleasures before heading to the beach to write, savoring solitude before crowds arrive.

Poetry·Dylan Geiger, age 11 — A winter walk with a dog reveals a landscape of leafless trees, frosted cows, squirrels with stored acorns, and snow drifts punctuated by passing trucks.