compassion

Story·Ava Jamieson — A girl finds a dying kitten in the snow and her veterinary-student sister saves it, bringing the sisters closer after growing apart.

Story·Chelsea Guo — A wizard who weaves people's fates with glimmering strings realizes the cruelty of his mischief when he sees a boy he cursed years later caring for a sick parent.

Story·Cadence Bertsch — A dragon with weak fire nearly freezes to death in a snowstorm until humans in a cave share their food and warmth, changing the dragon's view of humanity.

Story·Ellen Wu, age 7 — A child chasing fireflies discovers a magical tree hollow that transports her to space, where she collects gold to help her friend who fears darkness.

Personal Narrative·Maya Hooda, age 10 — A girl mourns her grandmother who ran a bookshop, remembering her generosity to a barefoot child and the patient way she taught her to bake.

Poetry·Daniel Shorten, age 10 — A winter morning bird-feeding ritual captures the urgency of survival as small birds race to eat before crows arrive from the chimneys.

Personal Narrative·Michael Chao, age 13 — A boy rescues two abandoned baby hummingbirds from a tennis court and raises them by hand, learning to feed and care for them until they're ready to return to the...

Story·King Hey Chan, age 14 — A student questions the effectiveness of detention after witnessing a near-theft, then successfully advocates to the principal for replacing punishment with counseling and reflection.

Poetry·Blythe Davis, age 9 — A child observes how her cat's contented tiredness differs from human exhaustion and imagines a world where we could all be tired in that peaceful, satisfied way.

Story·Miya Lin, age 10 — A girl reads about a catnapped cat in the newspaper, then sneaks out at night to search for and successfully reunite the missing cat with its owner.