winter

Story·Richard Wang, age 13 — A newspaper delivery boy wrestles with his conscience on a brutally cold morning, ultimately choosing duty over comfort after reading about Andrew Carnegie.

Poetry·Isaac Kamgar, age 11 — A skier experiences the sensory rush of flying downhill, tasting the sky's blueness while steel edges carve through snow.

Story·Emily Schneider, age 13 — A girl in California gazes into a snow globe's winter scene, imagining the Christmas town inside before returning to the blazing heat outside.

Poetry·Mina Alexandra Oates, age 7 — A winter morning at a lake where steam rises, ducks linger, and observers choose traffic over stillness, missing the quiet moment.

Story·Lizzy Teerlink, age 13 — A young boy in 1950s Chicago waits for Christmas morning when a reindeer mysteriously enters his bedroom, leaving him with a magical encounter he'll never forget.

Poetry·Zoe Phillips, age 11 — A child walks through absolute darkness and snow until spotting a cottage light that transforms the cold journey into a homecoming.

Story·Ani Wilcenski, age 11 — A boy watches snow transform the landscape and records the lives of forest creatures, while his father sees only an eyesore to remove.

Story·Téa Freedman-Susskind, age 10 — A young violinist overcomes nerves to audition with Vivaldi's Winter, wins a competition, and performs at Seattle's Benaroya Hall on the first day of winter.

Poetry·Cammie Keel, age 13 — A winter morning arrives through skeletal trees, a crow's shriek, silver air, and frost-cocooned grass until the last leaf falls on white ground.

Story·Sarina Rani Deb, age 10 — A boy's beloved husky Breeze becomes a local hero by saving lives, but dies after being injured in a blizzard while seeking shelter.