dramatic tension

Story·Ann Pedtke, age 12 — A Tae Kwon Do student struggles with self-doubt while attempting to break her first board, finally succeeding when she visualizes victory and commits fully.

Story·Alex Iyker, age 11 — A seven-year-old girl searches for her missing grandfather in a blizzard, guided by her dog to a cave where he lies injured, and brings him home on Christmas Eve.

Story·Tara Stroll, age 13 — A teenage trapper and his dog get lost in a Canadian blizzard, facing freezing water, injuries, and near-death before finding their way to safety.

Story·Jack Mesich — A mother cheetah hunts to feed her cubs, then saves them from a grass fire sparked by lightning, losing one cub before finding her again.

Story·Fiona Cull, age 11 — A mother cheetah hunts to feed her cubs, then must rescue them from a lightning-sparked grassfire that threatens their den.

Story·Ben Guarino, age 11 — A seven-year-old searching for snakes in his backyard encounters a timber rattlesnake that bites him when he moves too suddenly, leading to hospitalization.

Story·Pace Ellsworth, age 13 — A tiger stalks and kills an antelope, then discovers his cached prey has been disturbed by strange new creatures with vehicles, marking his first encounter with humans.

Story·Alex Chan-Kai, age 11 — A boy ignores earthquake warnings to go skateboarding with his friend, then gets trapped when a major quake hits the skate park and the building collapses.

Story·Rebekah Carbajal, age 11 — Three cousins rowing to a Maine lighthouse are caught in a sudden storm, their boat capsizes, and they barely make it to shore alive.

Story·Shelley Noel McFatter — A river otter named Roscoe flees from hunters and is saved when an old beaver sacrifices his life to protect him, changing Roscoe forever.