growing up
— A boy spends a final day at the beach with his best friend who is moving to Israel, remembering their years of friendship and facing the pain of goodbye.
— A girl conquers her terror on a Paris rollercoaster, discovering that facing fears can transform dread into exhilaration and pride.
— A young traveler boards a Beijing-to-Shenzhen train, befriends a three-year-old girl named Yang Han, sketches her portrait, and reflects on connection across the journey.
— A young pitcher struggles through a tough inning, then later coaches his younger brother through batting practice, passing on his coach's wisdom about perseverance.
— A Mexican-American girl's nursing school dreams seem crushed by poverty until her cantankerous neighbor unexpectedly offers to pay her college tuition.
— A sixth-grader watches her imaginative pioneer game fall apart when popular kids mock it, realizing she and her friends are growing up and leaving childhood behind.
— During a military coup in Sierra Leone, a fifth-grader shelters with his embassy family, finding and symbolically discarding a bullet that represents the violence surrounding them.
— A five-year-old girl contemplates the nature of waiting after missing a horseback ride, discovering through conversation with her father that waiting gives life meaning.
— A twelve-year-old faces peer pressure when her best friend Lauren shoplifts and tries to involve her, leading to difficult choices about friendship and integrity.
— A five-year-old girl sits by a lake at sunset, contemplating why everything in life requires waiting, until her father helps her understand its purpose.