hope

Story·Olivia Smit, age 12 — A captive cheetah dreams of freedom while watching his brothers die from starvation, until a woman rescues him and returns him to the African savannah.

Story·Ethan Levin, age 13 — Two astronauts on a routine mission are redirected to stop a massive meteorite heading for Earth, but fail, crash-landing on the devastated planet to become humanity's new beginning.

Story·Kathryn Malnight, age 11 — A girl mourns her lost dog Dixon, taken from her family, holding onto hope that he lives somewhere and remembers being loved.

Poetry·Madeleine Yi, age 12 — A single daffodil pushes through snow and mud to bloom, becoming spring's first herald among the winter browns and grays.

Story·Lucy Lu, age 12 — A young boy searches a war-torn battlefield for his father after his mother's death, crossing a freezing river to finally find him through their matching blue eyes.

Story·Alexandra Langley, age 12 — A grieving boy finds his dead mother's spirit in a swan at the pond she loved, after dreams tell him to 'listen to it.'

CJ

Story·Nell Chidley, age 11 — On Christmas Day, a girl discovers one of her ducks killed by a weasel, then incubates the duck's last egg to hatch a duckling she names CJ.

Poetry·Aiwen L. Desai, age 12 — A wolf's howl, an elephant's wail, a polar bear's lament become nature's collective plea for humans to stop destroying and start creating a world where all creatures can thrive.

Poetry·Richard Ma, age 12 — A basketball player misses shots on a worn court, the ball landing in mud, but persists until finally hearing the satisfying swish.

Story·Abigail Johnson, age 12 — After losing their mother in a car accident that leaves five-year-old Marcella unconscious, siblings Ellie and Luke wait anxiously in the hospital until Ellie's handmade poster helps welcome Marcella back...