connection to nature

Story·Amy Cheetham, age 11 — A sensory tour through an idealized horse farm captures the sights, sounds, and smells of barn life from grain room to arena to pasture.

Story·Zack Bell, age 13 — A boy plays fetch with his golden retriever, gives her a reluctant bath, then they rest together watching clouds—a perfect day he'd relive forever.

Story·Megan M. Gannett, age 13 — A girl climbs her favorite tree at dawn to witness spring's arrival, reflecting on nature's renewal and the wisdom found in stillness versus society's constant rush.

Story·Preston Craig, age 10 — A lonely girl at her father's wolf release center befriends an outcast wolf named Lupus, helping him rejoin a pack before his release into the wild.

Story·Sophia Stid, age 10 — A girl wakes at a family cabin called the Cedars, joins morning rituals including the 'Oh Joe' bell, and prepares for a hike with grandparents and cousins.

Story·Molly Ostertag and Evan Mistur, age 12 — A girl at summer camp bonds with a barn kitten named Oreo, plans to adopt him, but he runs away before she can return from vacation.

Poetry·Rosemary Engelfried, age 13 — A Pacific Northwest autumn storm transforms Douglas firs and ocean cliffs into a world of fog, rain, and distant waves.

Poetry·Emma Kilgore Hine, age 13 — A girl observes her cat Trixie sleeping on the dining room table, cataloging each gesture and sound with tender attention and affection.

Poetry·Juliet B. Quaglia, age 10 — A child climbs a metaphorical ladder to sleep, ascending through expanding views from house to world, then drifting back down into dreams.

Story·Malin Moeller — A boy in an orphanage experiences vivid dreams of a jungle that begin bleeding into reality, leading him to discover his connection to an enslaved ancestor.