identity

Story·Erin Bennett, age 11 — A shy girl visits a special oak tree at night where the ghost of her friend appears to tell her a cautionary tale about finding her voice.

Story·Caroline Lu, age 13 — After three years in Texas, a girl returns to North Carolina expecting everything unchanged, but discovers both she and her childhood friends have transformed while their bond endures.

Story·Annakai Hayakawa Geshlider, age 11 — A Japanese boy falls into a creek chasing his lost shoe and discovers from a wise turtle that he has the magical ability to breathe underwater.

Story·Roya Alkamil, age 12 — A Jordanian girl who refuses to make friends at her new American school learns that preserving her identity doesn't require isolation when a classmate reaches out.

Story·Lyla Lawless, age 13 — A straight-A student wrongly accuses a shy new girl of stealing her homework, leading to a cafeteria confrontation and a chance at redemption through detention.

Story·Margaret Bryan, age 12 — A cross-country runner experiences the transcendent sensation of flying during a race, moving between competitive awareness and pure physical freedom.

Story·Grace Watson-Martin, age 11 — A young enslaved girl and her mother escape to freedom after Rachel is sold to a slave trader, running through woods and hiding in safe houses along the Underground Railroad.

Story·Emily Ward, age 13 — A racing greyhound named Cassie, inspired by a little girl's faith in her, wins her first race but ultimately chooses freedom over fame by escaping through a fence.

Story·Natalie Schuman, age 11 — A girl recounts thirteen years with her beloved Barbadian babysitter Juan, from their first meeting through the bittersweet day Juan stops working for the family.

Story·Anna Hirtes, age 9 — An orphan girl named Shelly encounters a unicorn in the Magic Forest who saves her from a snake bite, then meets her identical twin Elizabeth.