finding home

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.

Personal Narrative·Claire Jiang, age 12 — A girl reflects on moving to a new house five years ago, making peace with everything except the mismatched fence her friend calls hideous.

Poetry·Talia E. Moyo, age 10 — A young writer catalogs the places that shaped her — from African deserts to New Jersey beaches, Zimbabwe's Victoria Falls to French villages — weaving family, food, and a beloved...

Story·Olivia Ladell, age 13 — After Earth's population flees to Mars, an eight-year-old boy is accidentally left behind. Eight years later, on his sixteenth birthday, he discovers another forgotten teenager.

Poetry·Liv Baker, age 11 — A sensory catalog poem moves from mountain drives through rain showers to skiing, capturing moments of calm through specific smells and textures.

Story·Elaina Heinitz, age 10 — A grumpy man captures the town's beloved wake-up bird, but when the whole town mourns its loss, he realizes his mistake and sets it free.

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 prose poem captures running with a silver poodle by the ocean, where salt air mingles with thoughts of politics and stars emerge from boredom.

Poetry·Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer, age 13 — A trumpet teacher arrives for lessons but instead of teaching, drinks espresso and talks about his Sicilian homeland, Mount Etna, and the village where he feels at home.

Poetry·Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer, age 13 — A bored car ride to Cape Cod transforms when the window frames a night sky full of stars, glowing trees, and the canal that signals almost home.