compassion

Story·Shelley Noel McFatter — A river otter named Roscoe flees from hunters and is saved when an old beaver sacrifices his life to protect him, changing Roscoe forever.

Story·Melissa Smith, age 13 — A sixth-grader reluctantly rehearsing for his church's Christmas play gains new understanding of the shepherds' sacrifice when he postpones his birthday party to visit his injured elderly neighbor.

Story·Max Strebel, age 12 — A girl befriends bear cubs, discovers her taxidermist father killed their mother, and years later must choose between saving him from a bear attack or protecting the animal.

Story·Lyra Mulhern, age 13 — A girl's special day with her father is interrupted when he brings home an abused horse, and she discovers her calling in helping the animal heal.

Story·Tran Nguyen, age 13 — During a dinner of liver and broccoli, a girl dreams she travels to Depression-era Berlin and wartime Vietnam, witnessing hungry children fighting over scraps.

Story·Bonnie Robinson, age 11 — A boy finds a freezing kitten in the snow and fights to save her, discovering his mother's hidden past with pets and her fear of losing them again.

Story·Shelley Noel McFatter, age 13 — An Alaskan trapper obsessed with killing a lynx that's been raiding his traps discovers she has a kitten and chooses compassion over profit.

Story·Emily E. Hogstad, age 12 — During a Nazi raid in occupied Denmark, a Danish girl hides her Jewish friend Leah in a closet, saved when a German soldier secretly pockets Leah's dropped Star of David...

Story·Anna Hagen, age 12 — A black cat survives a hit-and-run, loses her leg, and finds purpose when adopted by a mother seeking comfort for her son with cancer.

Story·Hilary Miller, age 13 — In a Bedouin camp, a girl resents her father's new wife until she learns the woman cannot have children and was married out of compassion, not replacement.