family bonds

Story·Timothy D. Cho, age 12 — A boy constantly moving with his struggling immigrant family runs away in Brooklyn, only to realize through memories and reflection that he cannot escape his past or abandon those who...

Story·Bo-Violet Vig, age 13 — A girl who knows every corner of her beloved childhood home must move across the country, discovering that home is defined by the people you love, not the house itself.

Story·Maggie Shelton, age 12 — Dawn breaks over a sleeping town, awakening colors, sounds, and smells as families gather for breakfast in homes around the world.

Poetry·Audra Sanford, age 8 — A child recalls the warmth and safety of being held by their mother in their earliest memory, describing it as their happiest moment.

Story·Audrey Young, age 11 — A physically timid girl who has failed at every sport finally learns to ride a bike, discovering freedom and confidence in the process.

Personal Narrative·Alina Khilchenko, age 11 — A girl's excitement about becoming a big sister turns to grief when her mother miscarries, teaching her about loss and the fragility of hope.

Story·Sydney Burr, age 13 — A girl waits in a sweltering car while her mother fights with broken gas pumps, her stream-of-consciousness revealing the death of her brother Joel and her parents' bitter divorce.

Story·Panagiotis Apatsidis Gunaratnam, age 9 — When Mike disappears from school, detectives follow clues through a haunted palace and time machine to rescue him from the Stone Age.

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.

Personal Narrative·Beatriz Lindemann, age 12 — A 12-year-old defends her two-dad family through memories of ballet recitals, newspaper rituals, and playground confrontations, asserting that both men are her 'actual dads.'