friendship

Story·Ava Isabella Angeles, age 11 — Three children discover they've been trapped in a virtual reality 'perfect world' experiment since infancy and must escape with help from a psychologist's daughter.

Story·Sean O'Connor, age 3 — A turtle who sees her imagined worlds as real befriends a dog who helps turn her visions into actual houses they can share.

Story·Ella Martinez Nocito, age 12 — A girl receives a cedar bracelet and a story about courage from her cousin before moving across the country, finding strength to face change.

Story·Salena Tang, age 13 — A girl with synesthesia who tastes words and memorizes dictionaries finds connection through a spelling bee competition, transforming from isolated to confident.

Story·Ava Bush, age 13 — A lonely woolly mammoth at a rigid academic school befriends a creative girl who teaches him about color-emotions, leading to their escape to a colorful utopia.

Story·Una Dorr, age 12 — After moving to Brooklyn, Kiera finally achieves popularity but must choose between her new friends and Claudia, who wears the same Hello Kitty shirt Kiera once loved.

Poetry·Ivy Cordle, age 9 — A child discovers that the scary monster outside their door is actually lonely and scared, shrinking smaller with each act of kindness until it disappears.

Story·Vandana Ravi, age 12 — A girl who struggles to speak finds solace in a book about a unicorn and a friend, escaping into its world during lunch before returning to face school.

Story·Blanche Li, age 9 — A girl overcomes her fear of nightmares about people with disabilities when she befriends Kylie, a talented cellist with bionic arms, at music lessons.

Story·Christine Chang, age 10 — A girl realizes she's been bossing around her best friend, tries to apologize at recess but makes things worse, then helps reunite Alice with her lost dog.