the power of imagination

Story·Kaylyn Kavi, age 12 — Two sisters visiting India reluctantly ride a rickety Ferris wheel at a deserted amusement park, transforming boredom into terror then exhilaration as they rock the unsafe cart.

Poetry·Jacob Dysart, age 13 — A skateboarder captures the split-second of flight when jumping a curb, where worldly problems disappear before the wheels touch down again.

Story·Hannah V. Read, age 9 — A girl diving into a pool transforms through daydreams into a bird, fish, and otter before a bump returns her to reality at the diving board.

Poetry·Lincoln Hartnett, age 10 — A storm builds through vivid color and sound imagery — yellow light, scarlet glow, pounding rain, thunder — then retreats into peace.

Story·Jonathan Morris, age 13 — An eight-year-old boy breaks through his grandfather's emotional walls by building a model pirate ship together, transforming their relationship through shared imagination and craftsmanship.

Poetry·Andrew Lee, age 13 — A speedcuber's hands fly over a Rubik's cube, colors sparking through the air, until the puzzle emerges whole again as the stopwatch beeps.

Story·Jordan Coble, age 12 — A girl disobeys her grandfather's warning and reads a magic book from his library, causing plants and animals to erupt from its pages until he rescues her.

Story·Dylan J. Sauder, age 13 — A boy hiding in an abandoned Paris theatre discovers ghostly musicians are his mother's orchestra, leading him to his grandfather, the famous conductor Alexandre Mierceles.

Story·Emily Schneider, age 13 — A girl in California gazes into a snow globe's winter scene, imagining the Christmas town inside before returning to the blazing heat outside.

Story·Nicky Cannon, age 12 — A boy races from car to ocean, feeling invincible in the Atlantic waves until his mother calls him back to ordinary life at nightfall.