vivid characters
— A twelve-year-old slave named Curtis escapes via the Underground Railroad with Harriet Tubman, reaching Canada where he reunites with his father and gains the surname Freedom.
— A daughter celebrates her father through vivid portraits of his loud presence, humor, work ethic, and creative cooking experiments, declaring him the 'King of San Marino.'
— A Filipino girl accompanies her mother to clean a wealthy American family's mansion and discovers that despite their poverty, her family has something the rich family lacks.
— A competitive swimmer struggles with body image after overhearing teammates discuss restrictive eating, until a teammate's collapse at a meet forces her to reconsider her choices.
— In ancient Rome, a rebellious girl secretly learns to read from a neighbor boy who must move away, leaving her with letters that sustain their friendship and her forbidden education.
— A thirteen-year-old girl remembers her brother's journey from playful teenager to soldier while processing the news that he's missing in action in Afghanistan.
— A girl discovers her mother's missing camellias are being taken by a Mexican neighbor who weaves flower crowns, leading to friendship and tragedy when the neighbor's sister drowns.
— A volunteer at a goat farm becomes attached to a sickly newborn goat she names Barney, nurses him to health, then must find him a loving home when he's sold.
— A boy secretly befriends a field mouse his family considers a pest, then faces a moral crisis when his grandmother orders him to shoot it with his bow and arrow.
— A girl abandons her best friend when she moves away, then learns about friendship and priorities when she helps an injured competitor during a cross-country race.