Three Keystone Students Receive International Recognition for Their Stories on Love and Imagination
Three student authors from Keystone Academy have garnered international attention for their creative writing, with recent commendations from Children Pay Children and the American Writing Awards.
In Children Pay Children’s recent annual international contest, themed around love, fourth grader Aiden Tao and fifth grader Doremi Wang were selected as two of the ten winning writers—out of over 500 submissions worldwide. They were also the only winners from Asia in their age group.
Aiden’s short story, Love Among Space, takes readers aboard a spaceship where sibling ants wage mischievous war against each other—until a life-or-death situation forces them to rediscover their bond. Doremi’s poem, “Love”, explores the many shades of the emotion: from light and shadow to joy and sorrow, offering a powerful reflection on how love shapes us.
Aiden Tao, Grade 4
Doremi Wang, Grade 5
Aiden and Doremi’s submissions will soon be published in the Voices of Love anthology.
Meanwhile, third grader Olive Wang and her original story Oleyn reached the finals of the American Writing Awards in the Fairy Tale section of the Children’s Book International (CBI) category. The next edition cover of Oleyn will carry the award medal and a blurb originally written in support of her work and shared by Olive with the publishing team.
Olive Wang, Grade 3
“These moments of connection—unexpected yet heartwarming—remind us of the power of storytelling and the kind of nurturing environment that must exist at Keystone to inspire such voices,” said Johannes Wu, vice president at Children Pay Children. “As a nonprofit, we find great joy in celebrating young writers and sharing their gifts with the world. Each book published becomes a force of charity on its own, spreading kindness, awareness, and opportunity—one story at a time.”
Together, these three students exemplify the range and depth of storytelling talent at Keystone, encompassing a variety of genres, formats, and themes. Their recognition by respected international platforms highlights not only their individual voices but also the school’s growing literary culture.
The award-winning works of Aiden and Doremi are published in full below. Olive’s Oleyn is published as a picture book.
Love Among Space
By Aiden Tao
In the cold, blurry, vast, boundless primeval universe, a humorous starship appears out of nowhere. This isn’t any regular starship, it is a moving community, home of the space ants. Among these tiny ant members, an inconspicuous family stands out because......the howling and the sound of an elder sister and younger brother arguing seems to come from their apartment every day.
Well, every brother and sister has experienced a little “hostility”, even these alien ants, but they still protect/love each other, right? Wrong, their “hostility” is war, but you’re right that their way of showing love is through teasing and scolding. Let me show you their diaries as proof.
**
2024 September 21st
Dear Diary,
Today I feel great because I scolded my brother and got a taste of triumph. But then tragedy happened. My little brother got a full-blood resurrection and attacked me with expired scones. But eventually, I got revenge by chasing him around the whole ship and raining some rotten eggs on him.
2024 September 21st
Dear Diary,
Today was a great day until my sister ambushed me by using a mangonel-like toy but changed the rocks into rotten, smelly, and definitely “past due” eggs.
No time to write more, I must plan my revenge on my sister.
2024 September 30
Dear Diary,
What a good day today is, perfect to execute my flawless plan against my sister. Wait, will my plan work? If it works, what will sister face? Anyway, she did things much worse than my plan. I sneaked up on my sister and yelled: “Boo!’’ And my sister’s spirit flew to the clouds. Then, I chased her to the portal and hit the button: TRANSMIT, ZAP! And my sister found herself floating in the Metaverse. Eventually, grownups found out what I did, and they ruined the fun by transporting my sister back. AHHHHHH! It’s always grownups! They destroy the enjoyment we have when we finally have a chance to defeat a sister.
2024 September 30
Dear Diary,
Today I fell into my brother’s trap! The worst part is that I got transmitted to the Metaverse! Thankfully, I am an alien, which gives me the ability to breathe in space; also I had time to collect some space dust, which is full of toxins. I ran to my brother’s room and slid it under a cubby, but what if it really works? What will happen to brother? Anyway, he transported me to the Metaverse. My plan will just do a little harm. Now, I just need to wait until our ship flies into the Markarian 348.
2024 December 20
Dear Diary
Today, something terrible happened. Our ship had an oxygen leakage, which meant that there was a crack on the ship. It all started when the space dust I collected exploded because our ship was flying the same speed as the quantum entanglement, plus, my brother’s room is right next to the control system, and the toxic dust disturbed the system, so the ship stopped!
Everything was about to be sucked out! We all tried our best to hold onto something, but my brother got sucked out! I got a rope and tied it to the ship, then let go. I floated and floated until I found my brother “swimming” in space, trying to find our ship.
“It’s ok, let me guide you to our ship” I whispered in his ear with my most soft voice.
“Sorry for what I have done to you back home, like throwing eggs on you and transporting you to the Metaverse” He sobbed, “Can you forgive me?”
“You don’t need to say sorry; I did mean things to you too, like slamming scones on you, and putting the space dust in your room, It’s all my fault,” I answered, leading him to our ship.
“No, it’s not all your fault, if I hadn't transported you to the Metaverse, you would not have put that space dust in my room,” he mumbled.
“Let’s not talk about this anymore, we should focus on going back to the ship."
When we got home, the other ants let out a long ‘‘PHEW!” And also looked gratified to see us like this. Today, I learned something, my brother is very important to me. I can’t lose him.
2024 December 20
Dear Diary,
If it was not for my sister, I’d probably still be floating in space. I’ve learned something: my sister is very important to me.
**
From that day on, the brother and sister lived as happily as they could be. No more yelling, throwing, fighting, and definitely no more transporting to the Metaverse. The strange thing was, their plans to defeat each other ended up bringing them together!
***
“Love”
By Doremi Wang
Love lives everywhere—
Deep in the sea,
High in the sky.
It’s engraved in our souls,
A memory we’ll never forget.
Love arrives anytime—
Quick as light,
Slow as shadows.
It takes root, then slips away,
Yet we’ll never forget.
Love can be a curse—
Sweet as a hug,
Sour as a tear.
It shapes and sways us,
And we’ll never forget.
Love is Romeo and Juliet—
Bitter as poison,
Sharp as a dagger.
It flashes briefly, yet lingers forever,
A story we’ll never forget.
Love is balance—
Clear as crystal,
Blurry as a dream.
It depends on harmony,
And we’ll never forget.
We’ll never forget—
Where,
When,
What,
Who,
Or how
We love.
