Paddington is on the scene when the situation becomes chaotic in a spotless kitchen, when a riot breaks out in the bargain basement, and when there are problems with a Christmas play.

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.

The story of thirteen-year-old Rose Campbell, who finds herself in the care of her extended family after her wealthy father dies. Surrounded by her great-aunts, her father's brothers, their wives, and her seven rambunctious male cousins - and finding a fast friend in young housemaid Phebe - Rose spends a year taking chances, learning new things, and discovering what it means to be part of a large, loving family.

Infuriated by the declaration that Pluto is no longer a planet, President Penguin and his penguins invade Earth and it is up to Ricky and his robot pal to defeat them--with some help from Ricky's cousin Lucy and her pets.

Musa and his sister travel to a Zanzibar beach in a shared minibus which, despite Musa's protests, gets loaded with everything from a man and his bicycle to ten swimmers.

When the eighth grade civics class of Miami's Culver Middle School goes on a trip to Washington, D.C., Wyatt Palmer finds himself in deep trouble before the plane even lands because his best friend, Matt, has decided the men sitting behind them are terrorists and it is up to the boys to stop them.

At first it seems that Peter Hatcher's summer vacation is going to be a scene from his worst nightmare. Peter's parents have decided to spend three weeks in Maine sharing a house with Cootie Queen Sheila Tubman and the rest of her family. To make matters worse, Peter's younger brother, Fudge, the five-year-old human dynamo, has decided to marry Sheila! But things begin to look up once Peter discovers that Maine is full of surprises, and his best friend...

"Valdez Jones VIII calls himself Wrecker because his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather salvaged shipwrecks for a living. So is it destiny, irony, or just bad luck when Wrecker comes across a speedboat that has run hard aground on a sand flat? The men in the boat don't want Wrecker to call for help--in fact, they'll pay him to forget he ever saw them. Wrecker would be happy to forget, but he keeps seeing these men all over Key West--at the...

Amelia Bedelia's request for a sibling takes her parents by surprise, but she is soon distracted by the possibility of finding the perfect puppy, instead.

"Ooh la la! Nikki Maxwell and her band are on their way to Paris, but they run into some roadblocks on the way. And Nikki's French skills may not be as reliable as she hoped! Can she get them moving again in time to reach their destination?"--Back cover.