travel

Story·Lila Mackenzie — A girl discovers that a strange hotel transforms based on whether you wear special glasses, revealing hidden realities including her trapped mother.

Story·Tatum Lovely — In 1826 New Mexico, ten-year-old Narna and her blind sister Lana escape their father's cruelty with their mother, finding refuge and community with relatives in a small adobe village.

Personal Narrative·Iwan Lee — A child recalls the surprise trip to the airport to pick up their new puppy, Yoda, arriving from Korea on Halloween day.

Story·Phoebe Donovan — A man traveling with his critical mother to his grandfather's funeral confronts their conflicting views on success and happiness when a flight delay forces them to share a hotel room.

Personal Narrative·Lindsay Gale — A girl stuck at home during the pandemic battles jealousy as friends text about their vacations, until rain brings unexpected release from her frustration.

Personal Narrative·Ia Sofocleous, age 11 — On the last day of fourth grade, a girl says goodbye to her best friend who is moving to Israel, clinging to the promise they'll be pen pals.

Story·Leo Roiphe, age 12 — A boy picking berries transforms into a squirrel and encounters a starving fox, gaining new understanding of nature's harsh realities through their shared moment.

Personal Narrative·Elise Cheung, age 8 — A girl visits Taiwan's Houtong Cat Village, where villagers care for hundreds of stray cats, and forms a special connection with a hungry orange tabby kitten.

Poetry·Woody Szydlik, age 12 — A young poet contemplates the Continental Divide, finding excitement in the engineering feat and the symbolic boundary between watersheds and oceans.

Story·Harper Fortgang, age 13 — A Purple courier delivering documents in the Forbidden Strip—where Purple and Green people live together—meets Unum, whose greyish-brown skin and perspective challenge everything she's been taught about segregation.