being different
— A lonely house repeatedly modernizes itself to attract families who always leave, until it returns to its original form and finds lasting residents.
— A witch narrates her daily routine of potion-making, mushroom hunting, fortune-telling, and mirror-breaking, all told with playful rhyming couplets.
— A girl who lives in a pumpkin house sells pies to buy a silk dress for a quinceañera, disguises herself to attend, but finds acceptance when her friend defends her.
— A man traveling with his critical mother to his grandfather's funeral confronts their conflicting views on success and happiness when a flight delay forces them to share a hotel room.
— A hero confronts a dragon but finds herself debating philosophy when the dragon challenges her assumptions about good and evil, ending with an invitation to tea.
— A perfect little girl meets her imaginative neighbor who takes her on a magical journey through a silver door to a Second World of castles, lollipop gardens, and rainbow-chasing ships.
— A child observes others who seem to contain multitudes while affirming her own singular self—one soul, one mind, one heart against the night's thousand stars.
— A young boy writes stories in an alley, facing adults who question his identity as a writer until he discovers his own definition of being published.
— A 12-year-old rails against school as an 'American monarchy' where teachers are dukes, principals are kings, and students are powerless peasants denied basic freedoms.
— Letters crash like storm waves and words dive like birds in this visceral metaphor for the experience of dyslexia.