school

Story·Niya Wodi, age 12 — A reluctant teen assigned to volunteer at a nursing home bonds with Mrs. Blair, a former Broadway star, discovering the value of intergenerational connection.

Story·Caelen McQuilkin, age 13 — A soccer star learns the meaning of ohana when her artistic best friend joins the team and struggles, forcing her to choose between winning and friendship.

Story·Jem Burch, age 12 — A Vietnamese refugee girl struggles with isolation at her new American school until a classmate teaches her English in the library, word by word, leading to friendship.

Poetry·Sylvia Gibson, age 13 — A teenager contemplating suicide finds reasons to live in small miracles like birds taking flight and children's first steps, offering her words as a gift.

Story·Sadie Perkins, age 11 — A girl watches classmates bully an autistic student on the bus until a fifth-grader intervenes, transforming the entire bus culture with one act of courage.

Story·Katie Woodward, age 12 — In 1957 Ohio, a lonely girl befriends an elderly Cherokee boarder who brings the first snow in twenty years and teaches her that she is loved.

Story·Sinnon Gonzalez, age 11 — A boy describes the wild freedom he feels on a roller coaster, contrasting his adventurous summer self with his serious school personality.

Story·Sophia Pellegrino, age 11 — Carmen wins a coveted violin solo over popular classmate Gabriella, but when she finds Gabriella crying, they discover they both wanted to be friends all along.

Story·Sophia Pellegrino, age 11 — Carmen auditions for a violin solo against the popular new girl Gabriella, wins the part, then discovers Gabriella wanted to be friends all along.

Story·Molly O'Neill, age 13 — A basketball tryout becomes a battleground when a rival sabotages the narrator's chances, but stealing a page from the rival's diary reveals unexpected vulnerability.