Three lonely foster children learn to care about themselves and each other.

Already a leader in New York's underground world of homeless children, Buddy Clark takes on the responsibility of protecting the overweight, emotionally disturbed friend with whom he has been playing hooky from eighth grade all semester.

Stick and Stone are both lonely until Pinecone's teasing causes one to stick up for the other, and a solid friendship is formed.

"Larnel doesn't know his neighbor Mrs. Katz very well until he asks her to adopt an abandoned kitten. Mrs. Katz agrees, on one condition: that Larnel help her take care of the kitten, which she names Tush. As Larnel grows to love Mrs. Katz, he also learns about the suffering and triumph black history shares with the Jewish heritage. Finally, they celebrate a festive Passover seder together, but their friendship is only just beginning"--Back cover....

As Hillary works in the miniature village, allegedly built by elves, in Sara-Kate's backyard, she becomes more and more curious about Sara-Kate's real life inside her big, gloomy house with her mysterious, silent mother.

Iggie's House just wasn't the same. Iggie was gone, moved to Tokyo. And there was Winnie, cracking her gum on Grove Street, where she'd always lived, with no more best friend and two weeks left of summer. Then the Garber family moved into Iggie's house--two boys, Glenn and Herbie, and Tina, their little sister. The Garbers were black and Grove Street was white and always had been. Winnie, a welcoming committee of one, set out to make a good impression...

Ellen's life is free of problems, except for such things as being teased by Otis Spofford and having to wear woolen underwear.

Upon her mother's death, eleven-year-old Wavie Conley must go live with a scheming aunt in the Kentucky town her mother left behind.

Miserable because his only friend moved away and he has once again caused his baseball team to lose a game, fifth-grader Willy Ryan's life suddenly becomes a lot more interesting when he finds Dodger, a furry, blue chimpanzee that only he can see, and he has to decide what he really wishes for in life.

Chester and Wilson share the same exact way of doing things, until Lilly moves into the neighborhood and shows them that new ways can be just as good.