Mrs. Pepper, a widow, and her five children lived in a plain little brown house where she struggled to feed and clothe her lively brood. The family had little in the way of luxury and hardly any of the things that many of us today take for granted. But they had such fun and good times together and loved one another so dearly that when a very rich little boy discovered the warmth and happiness that flooded the little brown house he felt himself lucky...

Twelve-year-old Arcturus Betelgeuse Chambers' quest to find life on other planets seems at an end when his parents decide to move to Las Vegas, but while they look for a house he stays with his neighbor, an astronaut who soon becomes a friend.

"La Música exists in many places--in the twang of a guitar, in the beat of a drum, even in the whistling wind and the morning bird's son. She brings color and life wherever she goes, connecting people to a grand harmony. And in the town of Santa Cecilia, she is everywhere. When La Música discovers a boy with longing in his heart and no music in his home, she vows to help him find his passion."--Dust jacket.

Young Percy Isaac Gifford provides a list of ten rules for getting the most out of Thanksgiving Day, especially how best to enjoy the buffet.

Struggling with her parents' divorce and family's financial crisis, Hayley discovers her talent for baking cupcakes at her grandmother's tea shop at the same time her best friend pursues other friendships and the PTA considers banning cupcakes.

Peter describes the highs and lows of life with his younger brother Fudge.

Dory, a highly imaginative youngest child, makes a new friend at school but her brother and sister are sure Rosabelle is imaginary, just like all of Dory's other friends.

Jack, terminally ill and preparing to say goodbye to his family, has a miraculous recovery after his wife is killed in a car accident and struggles to reunite his family at her childhood home on the South Carolina oceanfront.

Ethan looks forward to the Thanksgiving Day when he and his friends are finally old enough to play in the annual family football game, but that day arrives full of snow and icy roads.

Twelve-year-old Lexington, a foundling raised in a zoo, spends a summer cementing friendships, growing closer to the elephant that saved her life, and learning about her family and herself.