courage

Story·Jamison Freis, age 12 — A boy gets a dog his mother hates. After the mother repeatedly tries to abandon the dog, it saves her from a mugger, changing her heart.

Story·Kyler Min, age 8 — On planet Kepler-22b, students compete for honors status while their alien parents work light-years away, until a boy discovers the dark truth behind 'organic' education.

Story·Michaela Frey, age 12 — A foster child who lost her voice after trauma struggles to speak again, remembering the woman who silenced her years ago.

Story·Emily Carver, age 11 — A red wolf named Ruby gets separated from her pack, is tranquilized and relocated to Yellowstone, where she finds a new pack and home after proving herself in battle.

Personal Narrative·Kateri Escober Doran, age 12 — Two kindergarteners get locked out of their classroom during a bathroom break and must overcome their fears and rivalry to find help together.

Poetry·Analise Braddock, age 9 — A young poet's urgent plea for environmental action warns that without animals, 'the world is a joke' and challenges readers to reconsider who is truly foolish.

Poetry·Analise Braddock, age 9 — A young poet confronts fear as a physical presence, describing its effects on body and mind before declaring victory through direct combat.

Story·Hannah Nami Gajcowski, age 9 — A young girl with magical powers must defeat an evil rock star who has enslaved Neptune's citizens with mind-controlling lightning, aided by new friends and a talking rat.

Poetry·Juliet Del Fabbro, age 11 — A young person stands at the edge of a swimming hole, heart racing with summer adrenaline, before finally dropping into the dark blue water below.

Story·Anya Geist, age 13 — A nine-year-old Jewish boy is smuggled from Warsaw to Switzerland inside a curtain during WWII, separated from his family but eventually finding hope through a letter confirming their safety.