Onward

By: Erin Entrada Kelly, Gloria Muñoz, Jeff Zenter, Karina Iceberg, Padma Venkatraman, Aleese Lin, Anuradha D. Rajurkar, Xelena González, Aya de León, M. Garcia Peña, Kim Johnson, Sarah Aronson, Heather Dean Brewer, Rin Chupeco

Published by Charlesbridge Publishing, 2026-02-24

A collection of 16 remarkable short stories for aspiring teen activists centered on the climate crisis, highlighting how small actions can make Earth sustainable against climate change. Young adult powerhouse authors such as Erin Entrada Kelly and Jeff Zentner come together in this anthology of speculative, dystopian, and contemporary realistic fiction. This inspiring collection of sixteen short stories is packed with fascinating characters and settings that illuminate current and possible changes to our planet and how humanity responds. Included here is prose, verse, and personal essays from a wide range of authors diverse in ethnic background, geographic location, and socioeconomic status. A few tales: Shayta cares for a tiny green plant in a futuristic world where Earth has become a barren, over-farmed landscape fraught with dirt storms. Hana and her father travel by catamaran to the farthest place from land in the entire world—only to discover a giant, floating carcass of trash and a few other surprises. William and his family want to protect an endangered fish from a potential dam on a river that’s flowed through their land for generations . . . There’s also a section where readers can find concrete and practical steps to help curtail the global climate crisis, including resources specific for every story. There’s even a section specifically “For the Severely Overwhelmed.” This young adult anthology cultivates deep hope and stunning resilience—what we all need in order to make life on Earth more sustainable for us all.