school

Story·Sabrina Wong, age 10 — A popular middle schooler rejects her childhood friend at lunch, then finds her grandmother's photo and realizes she's betrayed her values for social status.

Story·Sanjana Saxena, age 11 — A girl moves from Chicago to India during monsoon season, experiences two different schools, then relocates to California, carrying memories of both homes.

Story·Zohra Maryam Chaudhry, age 10 — A Muslim girl struggles with shyness and prejudice at her new Brooklyn school until she stands up to bullies and finds an unexpected friend in a Jewish classmate.

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·Emmy J. X. Wong, age 12 — A seventh-grader with a lifelong crush on her neighbor plans to reveal her feelings at the Valentine's dance, but gets the flu and misses it—until a midnight mailbox exchange changes...

Poetry·Devorah Malka Reisner, age 12 — A new student sits alone watching unfamiliar faces until a red-haired girl's kind note transforms isolation into the beginning of friendship.

Poetry·Mia Ba-Lu Hildebrandt, age 12 — A young girl walking to school becomes enchanted by a brown-and-white tabby cat following her, despite her mother's urgings to hurry along.

Story·Adrienne Hohensee, age 10 — Two competitive students challenge each other at chin-ups in a rain-soaked park, pushing past their limits to discover something beyond winning.

Story·Cole Miller, age 11 — A young cellist faces performance anxiety before a school concert, finding that the music transforms his fear into something better than summer itself.

Story·Daniel KulahliOglu, age 12 — A fourth-grader arrives at school excited to perform in a play, only to learn his beloved science teacher has died. He finds solace feeding the classroom lizards one last time.