freedom

Story·Jenna Fields, age 12 — A bucking bronco narrates his life from birth to rodeo legend, revealing the fierce determination and isolation that define his existence as 'the fighter.'

Poetry·Rebecca Kilroy, age 11 — A girl in a hammock captures the sounds of summer — breeze, splashing, insects, lawnmower — then sprints toward an ice cream truck's tinkling music.

Story·Anna Haverly, age 13 — A twelve-year-old slave named Curtis escapes via the Underground Railroad with Harriet Tubman, reaching Canada where he reunites with his father and gains the surname Freedom.

Story·Felicia McSweeney, age 11 — A girl is swept out to sea at night, sinks to the ocean floor watching bubbles rise from her laughing mouth, then returns to shore with the tide.

Story·Evelyn Chen, age 10 — In ancient Rome, a rebellious girl secretly learns to read from a neighbor boy who must move away, leaving her with letters that sustain their friendship and her forbidden education.

Poetry·Tess Nealon Raskin, age 9 — A child dives into a warm pond where rainbow trout circle and bite toes, experiencing the underwater world as a distant, heavenly place.

Poetry·Samantha Ji Ping Wainapel, age 13 — A young writer rediscovers the exhilaration of flight, watching the world shrink below while yearning to experience the sky without the plane's protection.

Story·Aiwen L. Desai, age 12 — A girl searching for an elusive albino mare on her family's ranch is swept away by a flooded river, then rescued by the wild horse band she sought.

Poetry·Alexandra Orczyk, age 11 — A girl swings on a rope swing, crashing through bushes and spinning wildly, finding joy despite scratches and the threatening branch above.

Story·Yuthilcar Sokban — A Cambodian child recounts surviving the Khmer Rouge regime, forced labor camps, dangerous escape attempts, and eventual journey to freedom in America.