music
— A deaf girl discovers she can feel music through vibrations when her teacher shows her how to play piano barefoot, finding her voice through the instrument.
— A catalog of sounds in the aftermath of loss — from helicopters to stomach gurgles to silence — anchored by an empty iguana cage.
— An aspiring ballerina practices relentlessly for a Nutcracker audition but isn't chosen, only to be called in as an understudy when another dancer falls ill.
— A family celebrates every small victory by dancing the tango together, with even the dogs joining in, creating a ritual of shared joy.
— A young pianist arrives for her lesson in a room filled with vanilla candles and Sesame Street stickers, then leaves with an assignment to compose a New Year's song.
— A twelve-year-old girl struggles with her parents' prolonged grief over her baby brother's death until her fiddle performance helps them all find healing.
— A working-class girl secretly drives four hours to audition at a prestigious music school with her grandmother's cello, hoping to win a scholarship her family can't afford.
— A middle school percussionist falsely accused of vandalizing band instruments uses computer skills to uncover the real culprit and learns about empathy along the way.
— A young writer captures the vibrant sounds of a Mexican fiesta through bilingual verse, celebrating mariachis, street vendors, and women making tortillas.
— 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.