travel

Poetry·Alisa Zou, age 12 — A young girl on a plane to America watches China disappear behind her, tears streaming as she realizes how far she is from home.

Story·Tristan Hui, age 14 — A girl falls through her apartment floor into another realm where she teams up with a refugee shelter volunteer to steal a car and journey to the mysterious island of...

Poetry·Amber Zhao, age 10 — A meditation on Antarctic exploration becomes a reflection on distance between friends, memory's persistence, and how shared experiences diverge in recollection.

Personal Narrative·Arielle Kouyoumdjian, age 13 — A 13-year-old visits an indigenous village in Ecuador's jungle and confronts the stark contrasts between their sustainable lifestyle and American consumption.

Personal Narrative·Lydia Taylor, age 13 — A family camping trip to Yellowstone becomes a magical adventure as siblings explore forests, witness the Grand Prismatic Spring, and create their own riverside kingdom.

Story·Dana Yehia, age 8 — An alien from planet Watercolors dreams of being an explorer, builds his own spaceship to visit Earth, and ends up copying everything humans say because he doesn't speak English.

Poetry·Talia E. Moyo, age 10 — A young writer catalogs the places that shaped her — from African deserts to New Jersey beaches, Zimbabwe's Victoria Falls to French villages — weaving family, food, and a beloved...

Personal Narrative·Ilina Chaudhury, age 11 — A four-year-old visits her grandmother in India and gradually understands what death means when her grandmother dies of cancer during the trip.

Personal Narrative·Alicia Xin, age 13 — A privileged teen volunteers at a camp in rural China's Liangshan mountains, where friendships with local Yi children reveal the true meaning of gratitude.

Personal Narrative·Zoe Kyriakakis, age 10 — A foggy bus ride home from a museum field trip becomes a meditation on the phrase 'swirling arabesques' and how certain words can feel alive.