animals
— A river otter named Roscoe flees from hunters and is saved when an old beaver sacrifices his life to protect him, changing Roscoe forever.
— A boy's first hunting trip with his father becomes a moment of moral reckoning when he shoots a deer and collapses under the weight of what he's done.
— During a blizzard in 1861, fourteen-year-old Abby takes over for an injured Pony Express rider to deliver President Lincoln's inaugural speech two miles through the storm.
— During an autumn storm, forest creatures—a squirrel, owl, fox, mole, and others—struggle for shelter and food, their lives intersecting in a complex web of survival.
— A girl watches her paralyzed best friend secretly train for a year to ride again after a jumping accident, until their friendship is restored when Amy successfully jumps her horse.
— A boy recounts his great-grandfather's forced migration from Mexico and the miraculous journey of his dalmatian Pinto, who tracked him 2000 miles to California before dying of exhaustion.
— A girl befriends bear cubs, discovers her taxidermist father killed their mother, and years later must choose between saving him from a bear attack or protecting the animal.
— A girl's special day with her father is interrupted when he brings home an abused horse, and she discovers her calling in helping the animal heal.
— A child watches sunset from the beach, sees dolphins, rides waves on a boogie board, and promises to return tomorrow to the ocean shore.
— A girl raised by lions in Africa encounters humans who might be her birth parents and must choose between two families.