Sophie does not enjoy energetic, assertive Wendell's weekend visit until the very end, when she learns to assert herself and finds out Wendell can be fun to play with after all.
Lily loves everything about school, especially her teacher, but when he asks her to wait a while before showing the class her new purse, she does something for which she is very sorry later.
Fascinated by the colors, shapes, sounds, and movements of the many different birds she sees through her window, a little girl is happy to discover that she and they have something in common.
On a summer visit to her grandmother's cottage by the ocean, twelve-year-old Martha gains perspective on the death of a classmate, on her relationship with her grandmother, on her feelings for an older boy, and on her plans to be a writer.
When ten-year-old Adine's mother has a new baby, eccentric Aunt Irene comes to stay and shares Adine's bedroom--an event which requires a great deal of adjustment.
