acceptance

Story·Ermeen Choudhury, age 12 — A girl forced to move from her beloved bedroom runs into the woods, where blue jays sing a song that helps her understand home is carried in memory.

Poetry·Alden Powers, age 12 — A speaker deliberately ignores the decay around them—dirty dishes, holes in walls, a broken fishbowl—because noticing would make it feel less like home.

Story·Sandra Detweiler, age 12 — Two sisters saying goodbye to their favorite cloud-watching spot before moving discover a bird-shaped cloud at their new home by the ocean.

Story·Emina S. Sonnad, age 11 — A homesick Hawaiian girl meets an exuberant neighbor in an Oregon meadow who shows her a secret grove of cherry blossoms, where she glimpses their future friendship in a frozen...

Story·Whitney Lee, age 12 — A grieving teenager from New Jersey struggles to adjust to life with her aunt in Alabama until a chance encounter at a lighthouse during a storm offers unexpected comfort.

Story·Bailey Bergmann, age 11 — A girl who desperately wants a golden retriever learns to love the Irish setter she receives instead after they win an agility competition together.

Story·Roya Alkamil, age 12 — A Jordanian girl who refuses to make friends at her new American school learns that preserving her identity doesn't require isolation when a classmate reaches out.

Story·Shannon Halpin, age 12 — A girl angry about moving to a rundown farmhouse discovers a hidden underground room in the barn, leading to reconciliation with her mother.

Story·Alice Mar-Abe, age 11 — A girl's beloved neighborhood market closes, teaching her through the owner's wisdom about accepting change while cherishing memories.

Poetry·Riley Grace Carlson, age 9 — A child walks to a tree swing in a pasture, falls asleep, and wakes to find autumn has arrived while they slept.