Gooney Bird Greene, an entertaining second grader who introduces challenging vocabulary words and tells "absolutely true" stories, finds a surprise room mother to bring cupcakes for the Thanksgiving pageant.
A little boy makes several paper turkeys that come to life and now have to be protected from Foxy the Fox who is on the prowl for something good to eat.
When their apartment burns down and they move to a much smaller place, Mama tells Carla they can't have Thanksgiving, but Carla thinks about all the hardships the Pilgrims faced and figures out a way.