courage
— A new fourth-grader navigates between popular girls who mock imaginative play and Phyllis, who plays animal games like her old best friend used to.
— A reluctant soccer player is forced to play halfback instead of her usual defense position and scores the game-winning goal, discovering she belongs there.
— During a blizzard in 1861, fourteen-year-old Abby takes over for an injured Pony Express rider to deliver President Lincoln's inaugural speech two miles through the storm.
— A German girl bullied for her old-fashioned name finds friendship with an American newcomer, then saves her from Neo-Nazi teenagers threatening her for money.
— A German girl bullied for her old-fashioned name finds her first friend in an American newcomer, then must overcome her fear to save her from Neo-Nazi attackers.
— A boy recounts his great-grandfather's forced migration from Mexico and the miraculous journey of his dalmatian Pinto, who tracked him 2000 miles to California before dying of exhaustion.
— A girl accidentally stains her grandmother's quilt while secretly writing at night, then reveals her hidden writing to her mother, who shares her own story of artistic regret.
— A girl watches her paralyzed best friend secretly train for a year to ride again after a jumping accident, until their friendship is restored when Amy successfully jumps her horse.
— In 1665 Madrid, thirteen-year-old Maria defies her father's arranged marriage plans and elopes with Edward, an English ambassador's son, to pursue her dream of writing novels.
— A girl swimmer fights back when a new coach declares girls aren't good enough for competitive swimming, leading her teammates to crash the boys' tryouts and prove him wrong.