friendship
— A shy, homeschooled boy moves to a new home and clashes with local children over a magnificent maple tree, eventually finding friendship through shared love of nature and horses.
— A lonely girl who volunteers at an animal shelter discovers that music calms an aggressive dog no one else can handle, leading to friendship and her first pet.
— A young violist struggles with harsh criticism and self-doubt before finding confidence through an orchestra audition, culminating in both musical success and a first date.
— A Union soldier at Gettysburg confronts the death of his best friend while wrestling with memories of his father and the meaning of war as 'a game of chess.'
— A boy showing off in an old boat gets swept downriver at night, then ingeniously lassos a giant snapping turtle to pull him to shore at dawn.
— A girl watches her mysterious neighbor Rochelle for years before discovering she's created an elaborate kingdom from stones, each with names and personalities.
— A speaker accidentally rips a map and imagines the torn paper could magically bring her closer to a distant friend she misses.
— A thirteen-year-old girl escapes the frustrations of seventh grade by galloping her horse Hobo, transforming their ride into a fantasy race at Churchill Downs.
— A lonely girl at her father's wolf release center befriends an outcast wolf named Lupus, helping him rejoin a pack before his release into the wild.
— An eleven-year-old volunteers at an animal shelter, saves kittens from a fire started by another volunteer, and earns a shy tabby named Trust.