nature

Poetry·Anna Elizabeth Blech, age 12 — A gondola ride on a New York lake at dusk becomes a meditation on the city's transformation as day turns to night, ending with the gondolier's Italian song.

Story·Christopher Fifty and Indra Boving, age 11 — A flock of geese migrating south encounters a storm at sea, observing a skipjack crew struggling below before pushing through to reach land.

Story·Iona Swift, age 12 — After losing a theater role, a girl flees to a creek where nature's calm gradually soothes her devastation and helps her find peace.

Poetry·Kym Goodsell, age 13 — A child chases a butterfly through morning grass, stumbling but persisting until one finger brushes its wing before it flies away.

Story·Elise Watt, age 13 — During community service punishment, Bailey watches ducks struggle free from thorns and finds hope for her parents battling her father's cancer.

Story·Eliza Putnam, age 12 — Three friends spend a summer day cloud-watching, playing word games, climbing rocks, and spinning down hills until they're dizzy and mud-covered.

Story·Claudia Ross, age 13 — Walking a valley trail after elementary school graduation, a girl finds a broken eggshell and realizes the hawks circling her are searching for it.

Story·Maureen Sullivan, age 12 — A girl reluctantly moves from Wisconsin to Ireland, loses her best friend's photo at the Cliffs of Moher, then discovers a hidden letter from a lonely local girl seeking friendship.

Poetry·Wujun Ke — A poem traces the transition from pre-dawn silence through the first bird's call to full morning chorus as day breaks.

Poetry·Mina Alexandra Oates, age 7 — A winter morning at a lake where steam rises, ducks linger, and observers choose traffic over stillness, missing the quiet moment.