I am such a strong proponent of short stories for kids who have moved into middle school. They have limited time to read, and they tend to choose the same thing over and over again. A collection like this exposes them to different authors and gives them a chance to sample what’s out there. This is a collection of stories about what the future could be like. Ten authors explore “love, hate, the environment, prisons, cults, disease and the fate of the human race.” There’s a little bit of something for everyone. Rodman Philbrick has a short story included here that apparently launched his wonderful book The Last Book in the Universe. Jon Scieszka does a piece on Neanderthals and homo sapiens. It’s December 31, 33001 B.C., and there’s a gathering to celebrate the New Year or in this case, the Big Pile of Rocks. How far have we come?