empathy
— A shy girl misreads a sentence that spans two pages, creating classroom tension until a classmate secretly helps her discover the missing words.
— A curious girl investigates her neighborhood's 'crazy' artist who painted a giant portrait on his house, discovering the painting is made of tiny diverse people and the man is misunderstood.
— At summer camp, a boy befriends Caylan, a special needs camper, and defies the drama director by bringing him onstage to perform in the camp musical together.
— A white girl in art class gradually befriends Tammy, a Black student who faces racist bullying, culminating when she witnesses an attack and offers help.
— A girl resents moving to a run-down house with her divorced mother until she discovers her mom crying over photos of her father, realizing they share the same grief.
— 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.
— 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.
— 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 poem defines 'alone' through images of isolation: a homeless man at a grocery store, refugees fleeing, a mother who has lost her children, a turban among baseball caps.
— 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...