At lunchtime Daddy and Jesse play their favorite game: a question and answer game about people who live in Africa and the ways in which they are connected to Jesse.
Each member of a family writes an anonymous "I'm thankful for" note and places it in the Thanksgiving bowl, but after the family guesses who wrote each note, the bowl is accidentally left outside, where it rolls off on a year-long series of adventures.
A collection of poetry and nursery rhymes based on the Mother Goose rhymes. The rhymes show a few of the colorful and diverse aspects of African life, both modern and traditional.
Nicholas gains a better understanding of his elderly, cranky neighbor, Mr. Robinson, after a sprained ankle sidelines him from soccer for a week and makes him crabby with everyone.
Willie makes music every chance he gets, using forks, pencils, even hot pepper shakers. He dreams of playing the African instruments of his ancestors that his Grandpa describes: guedras, ecasa, atumpan, and dundun drums.
