loss and grief
— A fourth-grader arrives at school excited to perform in a play, only to learn his beloved science teacher has died. He finds solace feeding the classroom lizards one last time.
— A boy hiding in an abandoned Paris theatre discovers ghostly musicians are his mother's orchestra, leading him to his grandfather, the famous conductor Alexandre Mierceles.
— After his grandfather's death, a boy inherits a lucky penny passed down through generations, only to have bullies steal and throw it in a lake.
— A boy living in a North Carolina trailer park befriends a wealthy newcomer who moves into his childhood home, forcing him to confront his past and find belonging.
— A boy learns his father must move to California for work, runs away in anger and confusion, then returns home ready to face the separation.
— A twelve-year-old girl struggles with her widowed father's engagement to Jessica, fearing the loss of their special bond, until the wedding ceremony reveals she's being invited into a new family,...
— A peaceful pond scene transforms when a dead swan is discovered, prompting questions about death, grief, and the aggressive mourning behavior of its companions.
— A boy travels back to 1908 where a mysterious girl helps him return to his own time, only to discover she died the day after they met.
— A captive cheetah dreams of freedom while watching his brothers die from starvation, until a woman rescues him and returns him to the African savannah.
— After her parents' death, a girl living with her grandmother discovers she can honor memories without being trapped by them when she transforms her mother's journals into a scrapbook.