resilience

Personal Narrative·Misha Joksic — A boy experiences sudden, severe stomach pain that turns out to be appendicitis, leading to an experimental treatment at NYU Langone Hospital instead of surgery.

Personal Narrative·Mengxin Sun — Seven-year-old stuck on a water slide at Great Wolf Lodge faces her fear of darkness and devises a solution to get the raft moving again.

Story·Tatum Lovely — In 1826 New Mexico, ten-year-old Narna and her blind sister Lana escape their father's cruelty with their mother, finding refuge and community with relatives in a small adobe village.

Personal Narrative·Lily Harlan — A fourth-grader recalls the day a tornado warning interrupted a phonics quiz, forcing students to shelter while wind rattled the shutters outside.

Story·Terry Yu — An overweight girl faces bullying at school, finds solace in her mother's love, and discovers inner strength through a mysterious birthday letter that transforms her perspective.

Personal Narrative·Noa McCarter, age 8 — After hitting his first double, a boy finds a rare goldfinch feather, loses it, then recovers it days later for his collection.

Personal Narrative·Ryan Behr, age 11 — A second-grader's excitement about presenting a class panorama project turns to dread when a strict teacher punishes him for moving a tiny Lego boat.

Poetry·Necla Asveren, age 12 — After humanity reaches for the stars and drowns in riches, survivors emerge from bunkers to find a transformed world with golden moons and purple grass.

Poetry·Lilly Davatzes, age 11 — Letters crash like storm waves and words dive like birds in this visceral metaphor for the experience of dyslexia.

Poetry·Brooke Callan, age 10 — A speaker trapped beneath a blue night sky refuses to wait for morning and instead chooses to bring in the sun themselves.