loneliness
— An orphan boy expecting wealthy adoptive parents on Christmas Eve discovers his new family is poor but learns they offer something more valuable than material gifts.
— A twelve-year-old boy runs away on a snowy night, believing his departure will prevent his parents' divorce, only to be found by police and returned home to face the truth.
— A foster child traveling to a new placement bonds with her driver when their car breaks down, discovering he and his adoptive parents will be her new family.
— In 3014, thirteen-year-old Cassie's birthday is forgotten when her busy parents leave for work trips, but she finds strength in a message from her great-grandmother.
— A boy ventures into a hostile winter storm, finding strange comfort in the desolate streets before retreating to the warmth of home.
— A poem defines 'alone' through images of isolation: a homeless man at a grocery store, refugees fleeing, a mother who has lost her children, a turban among baseball caps.
— A poem that defines 'alone' through images of isolation: a homeless man at a grocery store, refugees fleeing, a pillar in rubble, an Iraqi mother, a turban among baseball caps.
— An Alaskan trapper obsessed with killing a lynx that's been raiding his traps discovers she has a kitten and chooses compassion over profit.
— A foster girl discovers a mermaid near her temporary home on an island, reads a diary from 1820 about the same creature, and chooses to join the underwater world.
— 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.