responsibility
— 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 complaining about chores falls asleep and wakes in the past where he must work on a farm, learning to appreciate modern conveniences.
— 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.
— A Thai girl defies her overprotective mother to save their home by selling the family's beloved mango tree to pay off the mortgage.
— Two seventh-graders investigate dead fish at a marsh, uncovering a plot to destroy the wetland for a mall, and catch the criminals in a nighttime stakeout.
— A Chinese mother faces an impossible choice when officials demand she give up one of her two children under the one-child law, ultimately deciding to leave China.
— A young baseball pitcher finds a mysterious sphere that allows him to travel back in time and prevent a fatal car accident that would have killed his best friend.
— A 12-year-old reflects on privilege and poverty after seeing a photo of Diego, a Guatemalan child he plans to sponsor as a 'big brother.'
— Two sisters leave their island home after a baby's drowning, sent to live with their aunt on the mainland while their mother recovers from grief.
— After a baby's drowning death, thirteen-year-old Eve and her sister are sent from their Massachusetts island home to the mainland while their mother recovers from grief.