Stories
— When villagers capture wolf pups for companionship, a girl who frees one is granted the power to speak to wolves and must negotiate peace between the species.
— A fashion-conscious ten-year-old chooses a fancy dress for a family gathering, then watches from the sidelines until she decides playing with cousins matters more than looking perfect.
— A bullied boy runs away into the Canadian wilderness, survives alone for days, and discovers his supposedly dead father has been living in the forest after being kidnapped years ago.
— A teen reluctantly agrees to teach piano to her blind neighbor, confronting her own prejudices when the girl calls her out for treating her differently because of her disability.
— A girl accompanies her stubborn friend into a forbidden forest to prove his bravery, only to encounter Shape Stealers—creatures that mimic humans—and flee when she can't distinguish friend from monster.
— An English girl grieving her father's death moves to Germany and creates a magical world in the apartment building's garden, finding friendship through imagination.
— A girl watches classmates bully an autistic student on the bus until a fifth-grader intervenes, transforming the entire bus culture with one act of courage.
— A boy learns his parents are divorcing, finds solace in his golden retriever Lucky, and escapes into baseball—both through books and a Giants game.
— Two sisters saying goodbye to their favorite cloud-watching spot before moving discover a bird-shaped cloud at their new home by the ocean.
— A newly adopted Japanese girl struggles to adjust to her American home until her museum-worker father brings her a tiny tea cup from a Japanese Friendship Doll exhibit.