Penny comes home from school eager to share her very own song, but must wait until the time is right to teach it to her parents and the babies.

Penny instantly loves the doll her grandmother sends her, but finding the perfect name for her is a challenge.

"Four-year-old Sal cannot find a gift she received from Santa, her new baby sister still does not have a name and takes up all of Mama's attention, and her brother Billy is annoying, but Sal finds her own strengths over an eventful Christmas season with her family"--Title verso page.

When Billy Miller has a mishap at the statue of the Jolly Green Giant at the end of summer vacation, he ends up with a big lump on his head. What a way to start second grade, with a lump on your head! As the year goes by, though, Billy figures out how to navigate elementary school, how to appreciate his little sister, and how to be a more grown up and responsible member of the family and a help to his busy working mom and stay-at-home dad.

Twelve-year-old Mitch, spending the summer with his grandparents at Bird Lake after his parents' separation, becomes friends with ten-year-old Spencer, who has returned with his family to the lake where his little brother drowned years earlier, and as the boys spend time together and their friendship grows, each of them begins to heal.

When his mother's new marriage takes them into the household of a miniature golf course owner, ten-year-old Wedge struggles with feelings of resentment and dislike for his stepfather.

Sheila Rae had a peppermint stick, and she shared with with her friends, each could have a lick. It teaches children to share.