the power of imagination
— A girl catches fireflies on a spring night, trying to contain their light in her hands before releasing them back to the darkness.
— A boy secretly rides his winged horse Athena through the summer night sky, flying over ponds and listening to a concert before returning home to keep their magical secret safe.
— Every Saturday, four-year-old Elsa and her four sisters walk through Boston, collecting bagels, moon cookies, and laundry, until a broken carousel forces them to create their own magic.
— A seventh grader sneaks out at midnight to her childhood faerie circle and witnesses real faeries dancing under the full moon, who spell her name in daisies and leave her...
— A thirteen-year-old bassoonist battles nerves and nausea before performing at Carnegie Hall, then discovers transcendence when she forgets her music and must play from memory.
— A poet escapes his chaotic household at night to write in the barn, where the sounds of sleeping animals inspire verses that flow from his heart.
— A morning routine transforms when a redwing blackbird's song stops time on the way to the bus stop, breaking the monotony with wonder.
— A thirteen-year-old girl wakes before dawn to ride her pony bareback through woods and fields, finding renewal in their secret morning gallop.
— A noble lady disguises herself as a foreign prince and wins three contests to free her husband from the king's dungeon after he boasted of her beauty.
— A girl dreams she's flying as a butterfly on Halloween night, then wakes to find she's wearing the same costume in real life.