When a teacher asks the children in her class to think about what makes their families special, the answers are all different in many ways - but the same in the one way that matters most of all. One child is worried that her family is just too different to explain, but listens as her classmates talk about what makes their families special. One is raised by a grandmother, and another has two dads. One has many stepsiblings, and another has a new baby...

Dad has posted a list of chores for the family to do before grandma comes, including bathing the cat; but the cat does not want a bath, so she mixes up the instructions, and soon the family is mowing the floor, vacuuming the lawn, mopping the baby--and the house is in chaos.

Orphaned Rose Campbell finds it difficult to fit in when she goes to live with her six aunts and seven mischievous boy cousins.

It's another Thanksgiving at Grandma's. Gavin expects a long day of boredom and being pestered by distantly related toddlers, but his cousin Rhonda has a different idea: make a break for it - out of the kids' room to the swing set in the backyard! Gavin isn't so sure, especially when they encounter vicious guard dogs (in homemade sweaters), a hallway full of overly affectionate aunts, and worse yet, the great wall of butts! Will they manage to avoid...

"Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins, but they barely know each another, and they've never even met their grandmother. Rich and reclusive, she disinherited their parents before they were born. So when they each receive a letter inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer, they're surprised... and curious. Their parents are all clear on one point--not going is not an option. This could be the opportunity to get back into Grandmother's...

"Celeste knows she should be excited to spend two weeks at her grandparents' lake house with her brother, Owen, and their cousins Capri and Daisy, but she's not. Bugs, bad cell reception, and the dark waters of the lake... no thanks. On top of that, she just failed her swim test and hates being in the water-it's terrifying. But her grandparents are strong believers in their family knowing how to swim, especially having grown up during a time of segregation...

The four Penderwick sisters are faced with the unimaginable prospect of their widowed father dating, and they hatch a plot to stop him.

"An exploration of the various places, people, and feelings that create a sense of home and provide refuge in the face of instability"-- Provided by publisher.

Two sisters, Stella and Marigold, do all the regular things, like go to school, but they also share adventures (both real and imagined) and secret sister things.

"In this reinvention of Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale, a little mermaid trades her voice for legs and makes a new friend on land, but must return to the sea to save her family"-- Provided by publisher.