US Common Core ELA
— An eleven-year-old reflects on how her relationship with her older brother has changed as they've grown up, remembering their imaginative games and missing their closeness.
— A reluctant twelve-year-old discovers a beautiful conch shell at the beach with her younger sister, rekindling warm memories of childhood beach visits.
— A spoiled girl working at her uncle's horse ranch to earn money for a laptop discovers an abandoned horse and unexpectedly bonds with him, changing her attitude.
— A child who once wished on stars for fun now wishes for more time with someone dying, then takes back the wish to end their suffering.
— At summer camp, a girl encounters a bully who unexpectedly shares a beautiful poem with her one night on the beach, revealing hidden depths before reverting to cruelty.
— A rainbow-colored parrot is captured from the rainforest and transported through illegal wildlife trade, eventually finding a home with a lonely girl named Anne.
— A roller skater crashes into a puddle but celebrates the joy of the ride despite the muddy, bruised ending.
— A girl devastated by moving from Ohio to New Jersey finds hope when she discovers an outdoor club at her new school and makes a friend who shares her love...
— A child climbs to a tree house and observes the small details of nature—an ant carrying a leaf, a bird taking flight—before settling down to read.
— A girl watches from her backyard as a male blue jay sings to attract a mate, then observes the pair fly away together into the sky.