Little Voices published 18 poems, 2 drawings and 1 short story crated by six children-Grace, Hayoon, Ryan, Lea, Leo and Jinho.

Six college student reviewers selected this year’s winners.

Sun’s Award

Mom’s Timer, written by Hayoon

Moon’s Award

Photo, written by Lea.

Star’s Award

Me, written by Grace.

Mom‘s timer central theme is something that everyone will experience at some point in their lives a fear of you parents passing it personifies it beautifully and its literary structure and style is beautiful 

⁃ Pavel of UCSB

I found the premise of “Mom’s Timer” to be really profound and display a strong understanding of human emotions and relationships. In the poem, a timer is tied to the response of the mother to their children’s behavior and actions. In many ways, the child acts in accordance to the mother’s wishes to prevent her from leaving and that causes the child to feel anxious. The child feels that their time with their mother is limited and chooses to make more happy memories with her. The poem expresses the emotion of wanting to be close to their mother but also refraining from upsetting her. 

 – Ananymous, UC Davis

This poem, “Mom’s Timer” left the strongest emotional impact on me, as it resonated deeply with me through the subject and the metaphorical approach. It reminded me to appreciate the time with my mom and how fragile a human heart can be. 

⁃ Anna, UC Davis

“Mom’s Timer” was well-worded in digestible lines and stanzas; the theme of the poem was powerful and expressed with well-intentioned phrases and thoughts behind the poem.

⁃ Kenny, UCSD