fear
— 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 reluctant soccer player is forced to play halfback instead of her usual defense position and scores the game-winning goal, discovering she belongs there.
— An eight-year-old's birthday celebration is interrupted by the September 11 attacks, transforming joy into confusion as dreams scatter like jigsaw pieces over New York.
— A German girl bullied for her old-fashioned name finds friendship with an American newcomer, then saves her from Neo-Nazi teenagers threatening her for money.
— A German girl bullied for her old-fashioned name finds her first friend in an American newcomer, then must overcome her fear to save her from Neo-Nazi attackers.
— 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 the aftermath of a crash he can't remember, describing the physical trauma and how others see him differently while he remains the same inside.
— A boy's dream summer with the Yankees is replaced by a Montana ranch visit where he discovers his grandfather's hidden baseball past and they heal old wounds together.
— An 8-year-old processes 9/11 through the contrast between her safe home life, library escapes, and the frightening images on TV, wondering about children in other countries.
— A boy discovers a hidden world beneath his grandparents' farm where woodpecker-rabbit hybrids attack him with hot embers and ice until his grandfather rescues him.