night

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.

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·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·Lizzy Teerlink, age 13 — A young boy in 1950s Chicago waits for Christmas morning when a reindeer mysteriously enters his bedroom, leaving him with a magical encounter he'll never forget.

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.'

Poetry·Rebecca Mitkus Wishnie, age 10 — Night at a dock becomes a symphony of metallic clangs, wave sounds, and boat thuds, while stars spark like kindling in the black sky.

Poetry·Zoe Phillips, age 11 — A child walks through absolute darkness and snow until spotting a cottage light that transforms the cold journey into a homecoming.

Story·Noa Wang, age 11 — A girl gets lost in the forest at dusk and follows a mysterious great horned owl through the darkness back to her parents' campsite.

Story·Elise Allen, age 12 — Two friends share their last summer night together, walking under stars and seeing a shooting star before saying goodbye until next year.

Poetry·Hayden Brame, age 13 — A child who once wished on stars for fun now wishes for more time with someone dying, then takes back the wish to end their suffering.