Stories
— A young violist struggles with harsh criticism and self-doubt before finding confidence through an orchestra audition, culminating in both musical success and a first date.
— A twelve-year-old girl whose father hunts wolves for pelts rescues an orphaned wolf pup and, with help from the Animal Society, eventually convinces her father to stop commercial hunting.
— During the 1953 Netherlands flood, twelve-year-old Sieke is separated from her family and spends a terrifying night caring for a lost little girl before both are reunited with their families.
— A Union soldier at Gettysburg confronts the death of his best friend while wrestling with memories of his father and the meaning of war as 'a game of chess.'
— A Chinese-American girl visits her father's rural hometown and meets Qing, a cotton farmer whose dangerous work with American pesticides reveals the harsh realities behind cheap clothing.
— A girl finds her late mother's locket in her backpack, triggering memories of her fourth birthday party and the day her mother died in a car accident.
— A boy showing off in an old boat gets swept downriver at night, then ingeniously lassos a giant snapping turtle to pull him to shore at dawn.
— While searching for a book, a girl finds her sister's forgotten box of seashells, triggering a memory of an Easter trip where she lost a found conch shell but gained...
— A girl who stopped speaking Spanish to avoid classmates' mockery finds solace in the woods and resolves to reclaim her heritage language.
— A girl finds her perfect horse at a failing stable, but when her superstitious mother refuses, she creates an elaborate scheme involving a fake dream to change her mind.