single-parent families

Twelve-year-old Ruby Miller, movie buff and aspiring screen writer, tries to resolve the mysteries surrounding her little brother's stuffed woolly mammoth and their father's five year absence.

After the death of her mother, Texas sixth-grader Lina's grades and mood drop as she watches her father lose himself more and more in books, while her best friend uses Lina as an excuse to secretly meet her boyfriend.

With her father out of the picture and her mother working long hours, twelve-year-old Cassie unconsciously describes her anger and confusion in a fantasy novel she is writing for school.

As he turns eleven years old, Max continues to exchange letters with his favorite author, from whom he receives some advice about writing a play and about coping with his mother's new boyfriend.

Twelve-year-old Megan does not realize that feeding a group of feral cats living in a field near her house will involve her as a witness to a traffic accident and in the dangerous plan of an unstable criminal.

Bronwen and Dylan, living with their widowed mother in Liverpool, England, in the 1930s, have been cautioned not to have anything to do with their neighbors, the O'Rileys, who go to a different church, but they all learn a lesson about helping each other when Mam leaves the children alone on Christmas Eve to go to the store and they are comforted by Mrs. O'Riley when they think a ghost has invaded the house.

Mimi is determined not to give up on anyone or anything, but since Mammy died, her father never smiles, her sister Sally is in a bad mood, brother Conor keeps to himself, and even Sparkler the dog does not want to go for walks.

Eight-year-old Emma is upset to learn that her mother is dating, but not passing along a message about a cancelled date makes Emma feels worse.

Fifth grade is tumultuous for Alice as she tries to help others through the many changes occurring at home and in school, including learning about sex when Rosalind gets her period and shares a book that explains what is happening.

The summer before she enters the seventh grade becomes the summer of Alice's first boyfriend, and she discovers that love is about the most mixed-up thing that can possibly happen to her, especially since she has no mother to go to for advice.