Squirrel, who is afraid of everything, teams up with Bird, who is fearless but grounded by a wounded wing, to head south for the winter, closely followed by Cat, who wants to eat them both.
Meg, spending the weekend with Annie at their friend Jill's house, learns a lesson about being careful after one of the girls forgets to latch a pony's stall and it escapes.
Cassie gets to bring home the chicks her class hatched at school, but when Cassie leaves Marley alone with the chicks and the latch opens, the chicks escape and Marley must try and return all the chicks to their cage before mom and Cassie get back.
Winston attends a weekend of puzzles at a famous musician's mansion, but when he and other young guests pursue a thief, they find themselves in big trouble. Puzzles for the reader to solve are included throughout the text.
As their cross-country journey with their parents continues through the Midwest, twins Coke and Pepsi, now thirteen, again face strange assassins at such places as the first McDonald's restaurant and Cedar Point amusement park.
Tired of being near the end of the alphabet, starting few words, and being governed by grammar rules, X calls for a vote on a new Alphabet Constitution, then dreams of how life would be if he became a different letter.
