Determined to win a trophy of some kind, first-grader Roscoe swaps a hand-knitted sweater from his grandmother for the chance to enter his new neighbor's very clever dog in a trick contest.
Roscoe Riley, upset with the notion that his teacher could get in trouble, comes up with a plan to keep the bee antennae on the first graders' heads, and help the drummers stay in their seats for the open house play.
After learning that she has the power to communicate with rodents, ten-year-old Emmy seeks a way to stop Miss Barmy, an evil nanny who has been turned into a rat, from stealing jewels from Emmy's wealthy parents.