Nine-year-old Anna is happy to spend a week at her aunt and uncle's Beltsville, Maryland, farm until she meets Theodore, who calls her a "city slicker" and spurs her to prove that she's just as clever and brave as he is.
Neighbors Perky Otter and hard-working Bert the Beaver seem to be complete opposites until Perky learns that work is not all drudgery and her neighbor learns that play can actually be fun.
Introduces the short vowel "e" through a rhyming story in which Penny Hen, content to live alone, learns that Jenny is going to buy two more hens and quickly realizes that life by herself could become lonely.
Introduces the short "a" sound through a rhyming story in which Patty Cat and her pal Hal, who become angry when Max the Rat steals their baseball, eventually offer to let Max play, causing him to return the bat and share a treat.
Hoping to impress the new girl in her class while they work together on an archeological dig project, Amelia tries to improve by giving herself a makeover and almost loses a friend in the process.
Shawn and his dog Keeper remain the best of friends even after the show-and-tell where Keeper trips the teacher, spills glue, knocks over the fish tank, and doesn't perform a single trick.
When a new classmate stops speaking because of the sudden death of his mother, fifth grader Sam tries to befriend him and risks destroying his relationship with his best friend Alex.
When Iris moves to the country, she misses the city where she formerly lived; but with the help of a new friend named Walter, she learns to adjust to her new home.
