finding home

Poetry·Tristan Hui, age 11 — A child recalls digging in sand and being lifted by their father over crashing waves, finding belonging in that moment of safety and joy.

Story·Natalie Warnke, age 12 — A princess locked in a tower escapes during an attack on her castle, meets a girl living behind a waterfall, and finds a new home after losing everything.

Story·Kaya Simcoe, age 11 — A girl discovers that paradise isn't just a California beach but something she carries with her, from hotel rooms to airplane windows to her New York apartment.

Poetry·Sheila Northrup, age 10 — Winter arrives with drifting snowflakes, golden sunlight on snow, and the cold creeping into houses where hot chocolate warms waiting families.

Poetry·Danica Lee — Winter arrives with soft snowflakes, harsh cold, and hot chocolate as snow swallows trees and warmth battles the bitter air.

Story·Sage Young, age 12 — A house cat gets locked outside during a snowstorm, survives a night in an alley and a raccoon encounter, then finds her way home to her worried human.

Story·Sabrina Guo, age 11 — A girl reflects on eating chicken in China and at home, connecting the meals to her birth year of the rooster and what traditions mean across cultures.

Story·Jem Burch, age 13 — A reluctant teenager dragged to a Ghanaian village for Christmas discovers friendship and joy through a local tradition of chasing chickens.

Story·Alicia Xin, age 12 — A matsutake mushroom narrates its journey from a Tibetan forest where it's harvested by a girl named Tashi, to a New York market, and finally to a new forest home...

Story·Olivia Stoltzfus — A mute girl who finds solace in nature befriends a mountain cat family, discovers she can communicate telepathically with them, and runs away from her divorcing parents who plan to...