travel

Story·Rose Zimmerman, age 7 — A family camping on their way to Oregon encounters bears eating their leftovers under the stars, turning a routine stop into a magical moment.

Poetry·Gwen Deutsch, age 12 — A girl watches wild horses thunder down a Wyoming mountain, experiencing the landscape through all her senses in a moment of overwhelming beauty.

Story·Charlie Kubica, age 11 — A Polish boy moves to Miami with his father and grandmother, facing language barriers and bullying before finding community with other immigrant students in ESL class.

Story·Alejandro Lugo Saavedra, age 13 — A boy named Gabriel dreams of his Arizona childhood, navigates Pennsylvania middle school, then learns his family must move to Florida.

Personal Narrative·Marco Lu, age 11 — A young naturalist explores the remarkable adaptations of saguaro cacti after encountering them in Arizona, detailing their growth patterns, water storage, and survival strategies.

Story·Sabrina Feldberg, age 12 — A Chicago teen resenting her family's move to San Francisco transforms into a fish at the beach, navigating dangers before accepting her new home.

Poetry·Rafi Mohammed, age 10 — A lost red balloon travels the world searching for the child who let go, eventually finding freedom in Antarctica among millions of other balloons.

Story·Frances Brogan, age 11 — After her family cancels their annual carnival trip, an eleven-year-old runs away by bus to Lancaster, only to be immediately driven back home by her friend's mother.

Poetry·Sophie Nerine, age 12 — A car journey through a mountain valley becomes a meditation on the overwhelming beauty of landscape and the intrusion of human presence.

Story·Kaya Simcoe, age 11 — A girl discovers that paradise isn't just a California beach but something she carries with her, from hotel rooms to airplane windows to her New York apartment.