single-parent families

When Mallory and Jared attempt to rescue Simon from goblins, they use a magical stone which enables them to see things that are normally invisible.

After returning home from their latest adventure, Mallory, Jared, and Simon find Mulgarath, an ogre and leader the goblins, has taken their mother captive along with Uncle Arthur's field guide.

Since Sydney knows very little about her real father, she makes up a story about her dad being a Boomerang and things start getting out of hand.

The four Penderwick sisters are faced with the unimaginable prospect of their widowed father dating, and they hatch a plot to stop him.

Music entwines Kira, a thirteen-year-old singer who hates that her father makes her perform for money on New York City subway platforms; Eugene, the class clown; and Jake, who longs to sing and to approach Kira, but feels held back by his stuttering.

To the constant disappointment of his mother and his teachers, Joey has trouble paying attention or controlling his mood swings when his prescription medications wear off and he starts getting worked up and acting wired.

Thimbletack, resident caretaker of the Spiderwick mansion, introduces readers to the faerie world and the many artifacts he has collected from the estate's former occupants.

It's Dani's first summer vacation and she is staying on an island with Ella, her best friend in the world. Dad is still in hospital but he calls every day, and Ella and Dani stay busy building huts, fishing, exploring, and swimming. Then Dad turns up, but with his nurse too! This is not the visit anyone had imagined and Dani isn't sure her life is happy any more.

The Grace children square off against an evil ogre who has kidnapped their mother and enlist help of a brownie, hobgoblin and more in their quest to reunite their family.

Fifteen-year-old Colette is a compulsive liar spending a miserable summer in San Luis Obispo, California, babysitting her seven-year-old brother while her famous mother shoots a movie, but things look up when Connor enters the scene.