family bonds

Personal Narrative·Claire Jiang, age 12 — A granddaughter traces her family's rise and fall through China's civil war and Cultural Revolution, from her great-grandfather's fruit business to burning ownership papers for survival.

Personal Narrative·Ilina Chaudhury, age 11 — A four-year-old visits her grandmother in India and gradually understands what death means when her grandmother dies of cancer during the trip.

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.

Poetry·Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer, age 13 — A girl and her father venture into woods to craft a bow and arrows from oak branches, shooting them into the star-filled evening sky.

Poetry·Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer, age 13 — A granddaughter discovers her grandfather's old Russian typewriter in a shoe closet and types her name on it, connecting past and present through the dusty keys.

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.

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.

Story·Bo-Violet Vig, age 13 — A girl wakes on her thirteenth birthday to find her family has forgotten, but they quickly orchestrate a do-over when they realize their mistake.

Poetry·Sabrina Guo, age 13 — During Hurricane Sandy's blackout, a family lights their first fire, boils water for foot-soaking, and finds calm while wind rages outside their dark house.

Story·Liam Hancock, age 11 — A teenage surfer faces the same deadly waves that killed his father at the Mavericks competition, then risks everything to save his friend from drowning.