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.
When he finds a lost beagle in the hills behind his West Virginia home, Marty tries to hide it from his family and the dog's real owner, a mean-spirited man known to shoot deer out of season and to mistreat his dogs.
Andy's entering the fifth-grade essay contest stirs his imagination to creative heights as he competes with his know-it-all cousin by making recipes with some unusual food sources and testing them on unaware friends and family.
