As an old man grumbles his way through a rainy morning, spreading gloom, his neighbor, a young child, spreads cheer while hopping through puddles in frog-themed rainwear.

Alder has always lived in his cozy little house in Southern California. An old, reliable, comforting walnut tree has stood between his house and the one next door. When a new family--with a particularly annoying girl his age named Oak--moves into the neighboring house, they cut the tree down. As Oak and Alder start school together, they can't imagine ever becoming friends. But they soon discover a series of mysterious, possibly magical, connections...

"When Lulu's next-door neighbor doesn't seem to be looking after his rabbit properly, Lulu and her cousin Mellie devise a scheme to make him pay more attention to his pet"--

"When catastrophe strikes their beloved upstairs neighbors, the Vanderbeeker children set out to build the best, most magical healing garden in Harlem--in spite of a locked fence, thistles and trash, and the conflicting plans of a wealthy real estate developer"--

When Stillwater the panda encourages Koo, Addy, Michael, and Karl to help a grouchy neighbor, their efforts are rewarded in unexpected ways.

"When autumn arrives on 141st Street, the Vanderbeekers are busy helping Mr. Beiderman get ready for the New York City Marathon and making sure the mysterious person sleeping in the community garden gets enough to eat. But when they discover the true identity of the person making a home in the community garden's shed, their world turns upside down as they learn what it means to care for someone in an impossible situation."--

Told from separate viewpoints, unfolds how sisters Sydney and Ally Tate's relationship changes as they get involved with their new neighbor, Graham, an artist with a videocamera who has a mysterious--and dangerous--past.

"Told that they would have to move out of their Harlem brownstone just after Christmas, the five Vanderbeeker children, ages four to twelve, decide to change their reclusive landlord's mind"--Title verso page.

At first Curtis isn't worried when his mother doesn't come home after her all-night shift at the gas bar. For a time Curtis manages on his own, looking after himself and his five-year-old brother. But then the credit card maxes out and the landlord starts demanding the rent. Just in time the boys make friends with cranky old Mrs. Burt who lives across the street. With the neighbor the boys go on an adventure. But will they ever return to their mother?...

It is the first day of third grade and sassy Sydney and the new boy Sidney are not only neighbors, they are in the same class, so mix-ups are inevitable--but they soon find they share some common interests, including a love for Halloween.