Twelve-year-old Katy always planned to do a great many wonderful things but in the end did something she never planned at all.

"It's Nanette's first trip to get the baguette! Is she set? You bet!"-- Provided by publisher.

"For a family with four kids, two dogs, assorted cats, and a constant stream of family and friends dropping by, life in the Austin family home has always been remarkably steady and contented. When a family friend suddenly dies in a plane crash, the Austins open their home to an orphaned girl, Maggy Hamilton. The Austin children -- Vicky, John, Suzy, and Rob -- do their best to be generous and welcoming to Maggy. Vicky knows she should feel sorry for...

Even though his classmates from first grade on have considered him strange and a loser, Daniel Zinkoff's optimism and exuberance and the support of his loving family do not allow him to feel that way about himself.

Clementine faces changes at the end of her third grade year and anticipates the birth of her family's new baby.

In 1946 a ten-year-old girl tries to understand and overcome her stern father's objections to having a Christmas tree in the house.

Sam is able to help his sister Anastasia with the poem she is writing for their mother's birthday, but his own efforts to create a special perfume are disastrous.

Every year, a boy and his family go camping at Mountain Pond. Usually, they see things like an eagle fishing for his dinner, a salamander with red spots on its back, and chipmunks that come to steal food while the family sits by the campfire. But this year is different. This year, the boy is going into first grade, and his mother is encouraging him to do things on his own, just like his older brother. And the most different thing of all... this year,...

Seven-year-old Vicky Austin recounts the events of the twenty-four days before Christmas, as she prepares for her role as an angel in the Christmas Pageant and prays that her mother will not be in the hospital for Christmas having a new baby.

Now that the four abandoned Tillerman children are settled in with their grandmother, Dicey finds that their new beginnings require love, trust, humor, and courage.