During the Great Depression six-year-old Marvel, her seven siblings, and their mother find a tar-paper shack in the woods and, over the course of a year, turn it into a home. Based on the author's grandmother's childhood; includes historical notes.

Sunny, the Defenders' best runner, only runs for his father, who blames Sunny for his mother's death, but with his coach's help Sunny finds a way to combine track and field with his true passion, dancing.

Hoping that if she wins a local beauty pageant her father will come home, Raymie practices twirling a baton and performing good deeds as she is drawn into an unlikely friendship with a drama queen and a saboteur.

Twelve-year-old Birdie Briggs loves birds. They bring her comfort when she thinks about her dad, a firefighter who was killed in the line of duty. Life without her dad isn't easy, but at least Birdie still has Mom and Maymee, and her friends Nina and Martin. But then Maymee gets a boyfriend, Nina and Martin start dating, and Birdie's mom starts seeing a police officer. And suddenly not even her beloved birds can lift Birdie's spirits. Her world is...

Charlie and Mouse, two young brothers, enjoy a day out together, attending an imaginary party and collecting rocks.

Greg Heffley and his family escape to a tropical island resort for some much-needed rest and relaxation, but sun poisoning, stomach troubles, and venomous creatures all threaten their vacation.

After Astra Primm arrives at Minnesota's Base Ripley, eleven-year-old Jameson O'Malley begins to discover that people are hiding plenty from him about his father and the Mars colony where he lives, and about the strain between Jameson's parents.

Peter describes the highs and lows of life with his younger brother, Fudge.

"The latest creature to emerge from Rob's closet is a cross between Chewbacca from Star Wars and Harry Potter. Rob names him "Potterwookiee" ("Hairy" for short) and soon Rob finds himself treading water as he tries to figure out how to care for his mixed-up friend"--

A single china cup from a tea set left behind when Jews were forced to leave Russia helps hold a family together through generations of living in America, reminding them of the most important things in life.