creativity as refuge
— A girl struggling with writer's block finds inspiration in memories of her late father and writes through the night, discovering she's already won by making the effort.
— A young ballet dancer overcomes stage fright to perform as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, discovering that her emotional connection to dance matters more than technical perfection.
— 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.
— After his mother's death, a boy who once hated writing discovers fiction and publishes a book dedicated to her memory, finding friendship with his former bully.
— 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.
— An 8-year-old processes 9/11 through the contrast between her safe home life, library escapes, and the frightening images on TV, wondering about children in other countries.
— 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 thirteen-year-old girl escapes the frustrations of seventh grade by galloping her horse Hobo, transforming their ride into a fantasy race at Churchill Downs.
— A girl sent to an Italian convent school to stop her from painting secretly learns from an old man in the town plaza and ultimately convinces her mother to let...
— A girl escapes to a secret clearing in the woods where she experiences brief moments of becoming the creatures around her—squirrel, robin, blade of grass.