independence
— A young poet captures the Revolutionary War through fragmented images of muskets, roses, and soldiers' faces molded by fear and braveness.
— Two best friends in a small Florida town face their first real conflict when Oscar starts hanging out with the popular boys instead of taking their daily walks together.
— A New York City boy gets permission to go outside alone for the first time, gets lost, and must find his way home using the subway.
— A young pianist reflects on the freedom of art and the journey from reluctant lessons to finding beauty in her own upright Kawai piano.
— After a killer whale destroys his research ship, a marine biologist and his pet cormorant survive on a deserted island until they can build a raft to escape.
— A girl awaits her mother's return for a crucial school interview, only to learn her mother is hospitalized and she'll enter foster care.
— A wild African horse is captured, shipped to America, and passed between owners until she escapes during a film shoot and returns to freedom on the African plains.
— A girl in a wheelchair faces her fear during her first therapeutic horseback riding lesson, finding hope for both physical recovery and independence.
— A child resists bedtime, drawn to the night sounds of peepers, owls, and frogs, until finally answering their mother's last call.
— Two sisters defy their mother's rules about a tire swing, then spend an afternoon picking berries at a neighbor's farm, savoring summer's simple freedoms.