family bonds

Story·Alexis Colleen Hosticka, age 12 — A father and son hiking trip turns dangerous when an avalanche strikes, and a mysterious deer saves the boy's life by warming his unconscious body.

Story·William Gwaltney, age 12 — On Christmas Eve, a boy helps his father and veterinarian deliver a calf too large to be born naturally, saving its life through emergency surgery in a blizzard.

Story·Kevin Wang, age 11 — Two boys visit their favorite river where one confronts his pain over his parents' divorce, leading to a dramatic rescue and deepened friendship.

Story·Anna Hirtes, age 9 — An orphan girl named Shelly encounters a unicorn in the Magic Forest who saves her from a snake bite, then meets her identical twin Elizabeth.

Story·William Gwaltney, age 11 — A family's Saturday night visit to a Mexican bakery becomes a sensory journey through pastries, Spanish conversations, and anticipation of Sunday's church crowds.

Story·Dressler Parsons, age 11 — A lonely girl rescues a kitten from a rattlesnake in the Arizona desert, and the small act of caring brings her disconnected family together for the first time in years.

Story·Rie Maeda, age 13 — A girl resents her attention-stealing stepsister until a horseback riding accident forces her to save Amber from drowning, transforming their relationship.

Story·Emily Waxman, age 10 — A girl prepares for prom in 1946, wearing a dress made from her brother's WWII parachute, reflecting on family sacrifice and finding beauty in hardship.

Story·Annakai Hayakawa Geshlider, age 12 — A boy discovers his grandparents' chest of diaries in the attic, reading accounts from a homeless man, a Japanese-American internment camp, and a 90-year-old woman, ultimately deciding to start his...

Story·Casey Tolan, age 13 — During a blizzard, a boy herding sheep on his uncle's poor farm rescues a nobleman trapped under a fallen stone at Stonehenge, potentially saving the family's fortunes.