courage

Story·Justin Le Veness, age 11 — An eight-year-old boy faces his fear when his father dares him to go outside during Hurricane Matthew, discovering both the storm's power and his father's protective nature.

Story·Sonja Skye Wooley, age 12 — A nervous softball player battles anxiety at bat, gets walked, then hits the pitching machine and slides safely into second base.

Story·Isabelle Dastgheib, age 11 — A girl conquers her terror on a Paris rollercoaster, discovering that facing fears can transform dread into exhilaration and pride.

Poetry·McKenzie Steury, age 11 — A girl walking on the beach discovers a baby turtle emerging from the sand and protects it from predators until it reaches the sea.

Story·Kaidince Edwards, age 12 — A girl's dare to microwave a plastic fork at school coincides with an unrelated oven explosion, leading to evacuation and her eventual confession to the principal.

Story·Brian Qi, age 10 — A shy girl dreads her first rock-and-roll class until she discovers her best friend is there, transforming her terror into joy.

Story·Maeve Brett-Vasko, age 12 — A young soldier who can see death timelines on people's palms sacrifices himself to save his best friend during a fortress battle, transferring his gift to her.

Story·Jon Breed, age 13 — During a military coup in Sierra Leone, a fifth-grader shelters with his embassy family, finding and symbolically discarding a bullet that represents the violence surrounding them.

Story·Sarah Heng Blackburn, age 11 — Eight-year-old Soon-Soon Wang flees Cultural Revolution China for America after her parents are taken by the government, leaving behind her best friend Xiao-Long.

Story·Lucy Strother, age 9 — A tall, insecure fifteen-year-old faces pressure to cheat on a state test from a classmate, but finds courage through her childhood teddy bear to do the right thing.