September/October 2005
— An orphaned girl joins her estranged sea captain father's ship, where she exposes the first mate's theft and helps navigate through a storm to earn her place.
— Chasing Vermeen by Blue Balliett; Scholastic Press: New York, 2004; $16.95 Have you ever gotten a letter that changed your life? Well, it was an amazing letter that started Petra...
— A girl crafts a tiny boat from bark and wildflowers beside a New Mexican mountain stream, then releases it to drift away like a fairy ship.
— A teenage athlete returns to an empty soccer field at night, confronting memories of rejection and rediscovering her love for the game through solitary practice.
— An American family in Peru misjudges a tourist with many suitcases, later discovering she brings clothes for local children and supports Quechua weavers through fair trade.
— In Tehran, a teenage girl joins her mother's secret political group that meets under the guise of Friday tea gatherings while the men are at prayer.
— A young diver conquers her fear of the 10-meter platform, discovering the exhilaration of flight in the moment she lets herself fall.
— While learning to peel apples with her mother, a girl's mind drifts through memories of other first times, barely noticing when she achieves the perfect peel.
— Rabbit soldier Brumm rises through ranks to defend Fort Cuniculus against fox invaders, forging alliances with dingoes and kangaroos in an Australian bush war.
— The Vanishing Point, by Louise Hawes; Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, 2oo4; $17 How would you like if the only thing you loved to do was something that was reserved for...