family bonds
— A girl recalls her baseball-obsessed childhood with her older brother Sammy, who returns from WWII as a ghost of himself, until their shared baseball finally breaks his silence.
— An angel recounts failing to save a Cambodian mother during a flood on the Mekong River, learning that even celestial beings have limitations.
— 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 twelve-year-old discovers seventy-five letters from 1919-1923 between her great-grandmother and a French pen pal, Cécile, who died at age twenty.
— A granddaughter observes her grandfather's dementia, as Holocaust memories resurface while present moments fade, yet his gentle spirit and their bond remain intact.
— 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.
— 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 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.
— A boy's dream summer with the Yankees is replaced by a Montana ranch visit where he discovers his grandfather's hidden baseball past and they heal old wounds together.