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— A child celebrates physical connection with the earth through barefoot play, describing the planet as a mother whose sandy skin invites daily touch and joy.
— A girl visits her dying grandmother in a nursing home, struggles with grief after her death, then feels her grandmother's presence return to comfort her.
— A boy confronts his fear of spiders during a nighttime trip to the garage refrigerator, learning to see them as fellow creatures just trying to survive.
— In 1953, an eight-year-old Black girl secretly befriends a white girl through a hole in the fence dividing their neighborhoods, until Brown v. Board changes everything.
— An alien's confused observations of human life, mixing up body parts and behaviors based on misunderstood information from 'a piece of paper.'
— A young writer explains how the tooth fairy works, from the fairy's tiny wings to the exchange of clean teeth for money under pillows.
— After her family cancels their annual carnival trip, an eleven-year-old runs away by bus to Lancaster, only to be immediately driven back home by her friend's mother.
— A boy terrified of heights must overcome his fear when his cat gets trapped on a crumbling 20th-floor balcony that locks behind him.
— A young woman preparing for her wedding remembers her father's death when she was eight and realizes she must let go without forgetting as she asks her mother to walk...
— A princess locked in a tower escapes during an attack on her castle, meets a girl living behind a waterfall, and finds a new home after losing everything.