Nine-year-old Calvin catches the attention of the school bully on the day before he starts fourth grade, while at home, the unfriendly, fifteen-year-old daughter of his mother's best friend has taken over his room.
Two young bunnies learn about the customs of Hanukkah from their parents and grandparents before they light the menorahs, eat potato latkes, and play dreidel.
With help from her brother and parents, Beth takes very good care of her new kitten, Rumble Tum, but when she closes her eyes for a moment one stormy day, her beloved pet disappears.
In Acton, Oregon, sisters Alex, Stevie, and Joey take turns telling about their lives, including their long line of actor ancestors, creative family dinners, toe marshmallows, swearing in Shakespeare, and the Sisters Club.
Third-grader Dessert's love of treats leads to a change in her large family's dinner routine, then an awful mistake, and later a true sacrifice after her teacher, Mrs. Howdy Doody, urges students to march to the beat of their own drums.
Rosa is excited when her new cousin, Benji, is born, but when Grandma wants to remove a beloved armchair, Rosa puts her foot down and insists that the chair, just like Benji, is a member of the family.
A young girl living in a book tries to find a story of her own while figuring out what a reader is and thinking about the stories of her family members.
Ten-year-old Julia Gillian's best friend is keeping secrets, their beloved lunch lady was replaced by a tyrant, and trumpet lessons prove difficult, making it hard for her to follow the music teacher's advice to "look for the joy.".
Fourth grader Lucy Rose learns about the perils of eavesdropping while also confiding in her diary her worries that her recently divorced mother is beginning to date.
