After an explosion, a new crime by an old murderer, and the sad passing of the founder of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, twelve-year-old Jack accompanies his slightly mental elderly mentor, Miss Volker, on a cross-country run as she pursues the oddest of outlaws.

At first, twelve-year-old Carol is not happy to be spending the summer helping her parents move her grandfather to an assisted living home, but as the summer wears on, she finds herself drawn to him, fascinated by his amazing stories.

"A granddaughter recounts the reasons why her grandmother is hard to love--and why she loves her anyway."--

Eleven-year-old Charlotte, who is not a dog person but dislikes her family's treatment of their Saint Bernard puppy, uses her determination and sneakiness to find a good home for the gentle giant.

When he gets too old to climb up the ladder, Mr. Putter and his cat, Tabby, figure out an ingenious way to pick pears for pear jelly.

Teenage Reese, serving time at a juvenile detention facility, gets a lesson in making it through hard times from an unlikely friend with a harrowing past.

aWhen grumpy Old Man Fookwire builds feeders to try to keep birds--the only creatures he likes--from leaving for the winter, he finds himself in a battle with clever, crafty squirrels who want a share of the abundant food.

Ten year-old Jake shares a special bond with his grandfather, Billy, but when Billy asks Jake to build him a sod house, Jake is not sure he wants to do it.

"In 1922, at the age of two, Petey's distraught parents commit him to the state's insane asylum, unaware that their son is actually suffering from severe cerebral palsy. Bound by his wheelchair and struggling to communicate with the people around him, Petey finds a way to remain kind and generous despite the horrific conditions in his new "home." Through the decades, he befriends several caretakers but is heartbroken when each eventually leaves him....

A small boy tries to discover the meaning of "memory" so he can restore that of an elderly friend.