authentic voice
— A boy reluctantly leaves his TV show to help with chores, befriends a squirrel, attempts to rescue it from a hawk, and discovers a new connection to nature.
— A foster child traveling to a new placement bonds with her driver when their car breaks down, discovering he and his adoptive parents will be her new family.
— A young reader searches library shelves until discovering a forgotten red book with gold lettering that promises adventure despite its brevity.
— A girl loses her childhood best friend when their families take opposite sides during the American Revolution's Stamp Act crisis, their final parting at a harbor as he sails away.
— A girl named Yellow Rose navigates grief, loneliness, and her father's new girlfriend until a chance encounter with a neighbor opens a door to friendship.
— A midnight journey from bed to kitchen for milk captures the disorienting sensory details of being awake at 3:30 A.M.
— A deaf girl discovers she can feel music through vibrations when her teacher shows her how to play piano barefoot, finding her voice through the instrument.
— A girl with amnesia wakes on a beach, joins a group of free children, and learns to fly by believing in herself—until she wakes from the dream.
— A young writer expresses the desire to dissolve boundaries between self and nature, imagining feet sinking into dirt, floating as water, swaying in trees.
— After his mother's death, a boy who once hated writing discovers fiction and publishes a book dedicated to her memory, finding friendship with his former bully.