death

Story·Ayla Schultz, age 11 — A girl whose family is fragmenting befriends her silent cousin by creating a mechanical dancing bird that mirrors the shorebirds they both love.

Story·Jenna Fields, age 13 — After her grandfather shares memories of her late grandmother during a rainstorm, a girl discovers the meaning of finding sunshine even on cloudy days when he passes away two days...

Story·Abigail Johnson, age 12 — After losing their mother in a car accident that leaves five-year-old Marcella unconscious, siblings Ellie and Luke wait anxiously in the hospital until Ellie's handmade poster helps welcome Marcella back...

Story·Ermeen Choudhury, age 12 — Five years after her twin sister Grace falls to her death from their treehouse, twelve-year-old Chloë returns to find Grace's spirit waiting to play pirates one last time.

Story·Claire Mao, age 10 — A seven-year-old in Shanghai receives a pet rabbit as a gift, but after two weeks of joy, the rabbit dies the night before the family must travel.

Story·Eleanor M. Polak, age 11 — After her parents' death, Sarah moves from her strict aunt's house to live with elderly strangers in the country, finding unexpected warmth and belonging.

Story·Ellanora Lerner, age 12 — A volunteer meal deliverer meets an elderly man who asks her to write about his deceased son so he'll be remembered, then receives the son's funeral tape after the father...

Story·Catherine Chung, age 10 — After her dog is killed in a storm, a girl runs to their secret creek hideout to grieve, where her mother finds and comforts her.

Story·Isabel Stronski, age 12 — After her mother's death, a girl moves to a farm with her father and encounters an old woman who tends a single bean plant, her only inheritance from her late...

Story·Abby K. Svetlik, age 12 — A girl moves from Colorado to New York after her mother's death, resisting the change until an elderly landlady helps her see that pain makes love meaningful.