January/February 2012
— A young violinist overcomes nerves to audition with Vivaldi's Winter, wins a competition, and performs at Seattle's Benaroya Hall on the first day of winter.
— During band practice, a student sneezes directly into his trombone, creating an explosive sound that stops the entire class mid-song.
— A girl annoyed by her younger neighbor's clinginess realizes she's the child's role model, just as an older girl once was for her.
— A Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park; Clarion Books: New York, 2010; $16 Have you ever found yourself running as fast as you could but not really sure...
— A sister recounts the day Arachne challenged Athena to a weaving contest and was transformed into a spider, then encounters her again years later.
— A lonely commuter observes fleeting human connections on the M31 bus, finding meaning in strangers' brief interactions while questioning their own isolation.
— A salmon's perspective during its final leap upstream, narrowly escaping a grizzly bear's jaws before reaching calmer waters.
— During a thunderstorm, a Native American girl rescues a cardinal trapped in a flooding snake hole, names him Fire, and reluctantly releases him at dawn.
— A girl mourns her lost dog Dixon, taken from her family, holding onto hope that he lives somewhere and remembers being loved.
— A small new kid at school finds belonging when his unlikely friend, a football player, invites him to join the game and helps him up after a hard tackle.