With the help of his popular Uncle Chester, a young Chinese American boy tries hard to fulfill a promise to have firecrackers for everyone on the Chinese New Year in 1954. Includes an afterword with information about the Chinese customs portrayed in the story.
Ellie pet-sits for her neighbor's African grey parrot Alix, about whom she is writing a report, while her family argues over whether to get a cat or a dog, and her little brother accidentally lets Alix out of his cage, all of which is chronicled in Ellie's ever-present sketchbook.
While trying to find a new best friend after feuding with Rowley, middle-school slacker Greg Heffley is warned by older family members that adolescence is a time to act more responsibly and to think seriously about his future.
Binky the Space Cat falls out of the bathroom window and is attacked by aliens until he is rescued by his human. Once safe inside, however, Binky realizes that his co-pilot, Ted, is still outside and he is determined to rescue him.
When Josh, his parents, grandfather, and eight-year-old brother move into the old Tilton House, they discover such strange things as talking rats, a dimmer switch that makes the house invisible, and a powder that makes objects grow.
Fourth-grader Calvin creates a unique way to express his desire for a dog after his teacher asks him to write a persuasive argument about something he really wants.
Randolph, an avid young collector of bottle caps, new words, and other assorted items, is captivated by the mysterious wooden crates belonging to his family's new boarder, Mr. Karp.
In 1935, when her mother gets a job housekeeping for a woman who does not like children, eleven-year-old Turtle is sent to stay with relatives she has never met in far away Key West, Florida.
After a snowboarding accident, Syrah Cheng, a billionaire's daughter, must rehabilitate both her knee and her self-esteem while forging relationships with those who accept her for who she is.
Juliet is a worrier, but when constant bickering between her and her younger sister leads Juliet to move into her own bedroom, she discovers the Worry Tree her grandmother used as a girl to relieve her own concerns.
