Stories
— A girl having a terrible day meets a mysterious boy who shows her a hidden pond with lotus flowers growing from mud, teaching her about resilience.
— After her parents' death, Sarah moves from her strict aunt's house to live with elderly strangers in the country, finding unexpected warmth and belonging.
— A volunteer meal deliverer meets an elderly man who asks her to write about his deceased son so he'll be remembered, then receives the son's funeral tape after the father...
— A seven-year-old Taiwanese immigrant girl chases a boy who steals her five-dollar bill at the market, learning hard lessons about trust and resilience in her new country.
— After her dog is killed in a storm, a girl runs to their secret creek hideout to grieve, where her mother finds and comforts her.
— Two friends race coconuts down a sandy hill during a beach campfire, forgetting to mark which coconut belongs to whom, leading to a playful argument.
— After her mother's death, a girl moves to a farm with her father and encounters an old woman who tends a single bean plant, her only inheritance from her late...
— A girl moves from Colorado to New York after her mother's death, resisting the change until an elderly landlady helps her see that pain makes love meaningful.
— A boy jealous of his cousin's building projects with their grandfather finally gets his chance when they build a chicken coop together during a summer visit.
— During a violent storm in France, an older brother frightens his adopted younger sibling with tornado tales, then realizes his cruelty and transforms the storm into an adventure game.