"Franklin is afraid of small, dark places. This is a real problem because Franklin is a turtle. And he is afraid of crawling into his small, dark shell. What will Franklin do?"

Franklin and his friends Bear, Snail, and Rabbit form the Secret Club, but are limited by the size of their hideout from letting anyone else join, but when Beaver starts a club of his own, Franklin and his pals begin to feel left out.

Shy Mr. Hoppy devises a plan to win the heart of his true love by teaching her a spell to make her tortoise grow bigger. Mr. Hoppy keeps substituting ever-larger tortoises for Mrs. Silver's pet Alfie, in hopes of convincing her to marry him. Mr. Hoppy is smitten with Mrs. Silver, whose main concern is her tortoise. Mr. Hoppy's love for the flowers he grows on his balcony is exceeded only by his love for Mrs. Silver, the lady who lives in the apartment...

Franklin the turtle finds that when he must have his way all the time with his friends, his friends do not want to play with him.

"With pencil case in hand, Franklin is set for his first day of school - until it's time to board the bus! This sensitively written story leads to a wonderful self-affirming discovery" Cf. Our choice, 1996-1997.

Although disappointed that his grandparents will not be able to come to Thanksgiving dinner, Franklin realizes he has plenty to be thankful for.

Members of the Critter Club are all excited about their summer plans until Liz learns that, instead of taking an art class, she will have to be in summer school to improve her math skills, but a fun teacher, a classroom pet, support from her friends, and advice from her brother might get her through.

"Oh no! Franklin told his friends he can disappear! Will he really do it" Cf. Our choice, 2003.

Franklin and Harriette are used to having Granny stay with them when their parents go out, but this time Mrs. Muskrat is the babysitter.

When his friend Otter comes to visit, Franklin finds it hard to accept the fact that they have both grown up and may have to discard their childish ways.