being different

Poetry·Mazzi Maycotte, age 10 — A child crosses rivers, lakes, and mountains to reach school, only to be invisible in the classroom—unseen, unheard, like a ghost.

Story·Alex Berman, age 13 — A whimsical origin story explains how the floating, two-eyed giiants of Chocolate Lemon island became the one-eyed cyclopes we know today.

Story·Salena Tang, age 13 — A girl with synesthesia who tastes words and memorizes dictionaries finds connection through a spelling bee competition, transforming from isolated to confident.

Story·Ava Bush, age 13 — A lonely woolly mammoth at a rigid academic school befriends a creative girl who teaches him about color-emotions, leading to their escape to a colorful utopia.

Story·Una Dorr, age 12 — After moving to Brooklyn, Kiera finally achieves popularity but must choose between her new friends and Claudia, who wears the same Hello Kitty shirt Kiera once loved.

Poetry·Analise Braddock, age 7 — A girl encounters a juggle man who accuses her of theft, leading to police involvement and a litany of her supposed misdeeds.

Story·Julia Li, age 12 — A girl feels like an alien at school, invisible until classmates realize her father is rich, then suddenly everyone wants to help her.

Poetry·Olivia Cadham, age 11 — A young person explores their fluid identity through the lens of being a girl, boy, or dragon on different days, ultimately choosing to be themselves.

Story·Anyi Sharma, age 10 — A man recently released from prison hosts a dinner party where guests flee one by one, revealing his isolation as reality dissolves into forest imagery.

Story·Kyra Yip, age 11 — A girl with severe food allergies navigates birthday parties, medical emergencies, and social awkwardness, ultimately finding strength in her difference rather than shame.