Stories
— A girl searches for the perfect apple in her grandfather's orchard, remembering her grandmother who died last year, and discovers a new way forward through shared grief.
— After three years in Texas, a girl returns to North Carolina expecting everything unchanged, but discovers both she and her childhood friends have transformed while their bond endures.
— A Japanese boy falls into a creek chasing his lost shoe and discovers from a wise turtle that he has the magical ability to breathe underwater.
— A bored five-year-old on the Titanic wanders below decks, meets a young mechanic who helps her understand her strict governess, and gains a new perspective on their relationship.
— A princess fleeing assassins finds refuge with a werewolf who reveals his pack was banished by the same enemy, leading them to forge an alliance.
— A girl remembers her terror at starting preschool as she prepares to leave for college, finding her mother crying on her bed in a reversal of their old roles.
— A grieving teenager from New Jersey struggles to adjust to life with her aunt in Alabama until a chance encounter at a lighthouse during a storm offers unexpected comfort.
— A girl traces her understanding of the Iraq War through three encounters: her aunt's photos, a returned care package marked DECEASED, and her grandmother holding a soldier's boots.
— A boy visiting Nicaragua is confronted by child street vendors and gives his souvenir money to a five-year-old selling flowers outside a restaurant.
— A nine-year-old tennis player, forced to retire from a match due to knee injury, transforms despair into determination while watching rain turn to rainbow from her bedroom window.