nature

Poetry·Eden Amital, age 13 — Gulls fly between mountain peaks while the immobile rocks' shadows dance below, exploring the contrast between movement and stillness in a landscape.

Story·Emma T. Capps, age 12 — A girl hides in her favorite tree before a dreaded doctor's visit, finding solace in the branches and sharing a poem that no one else appreciated.

Story·Josepha Natzke, age 13 — A magnificent buck stands guard at forest's edge, sensing danger, then battles a hungry cougar to protect the sleeping does and fawns.

Story·Katie Mercer-Taylor, age 13 — Two girls meet at a mountain overlook on Anne's last day before moving to California, sharing a moment of understanding about their respective losses and transitions.

Poetry·Dylan Sherman, age 10 — White becomes a meditation on beauty and renewal through images of doves, snow, sails, and roses emerging from ashes.

Poetry·Peter Satterthwaite, age 13 — A peaceful pond scene transforms when a dead swan is discovered, prompting questions about death, grief, and the aggressive mourning behavior of its companions.

Story·Katya B. Schwenk, age 11 — A girl finds an abandoned black lab in the woods with a note asking someone to care for him, then encounters him a year later, happy with a new family.

Poetry·Laurel Gibson, age 12 — A single yellow leaf spirals down in an autumn forest, becoming a bright spot of color among the brown fallen leaves on a cloudy day.

Story·Christopher Fifty, age 13 — An osprey hunts for fish to feed his mate and chicks, navigating marsh winds and the constant threat of eagles to provide for his family.

Poetry·Eliza Putnam, age 13 — A reader abandons her book to follow the calls of wood frogs and peepers through her window onto the porch roof, where their chorus declares 'We are alive.'