Penny instantly loves the doll her grandmother sends her, but finding the perfect name for her is a challenge.

On a summer visit to her grandmother's cottage by the ocean, twelve-year-old Martha gains perspective on the death of a classmate, on her relationship with her grandmother, on her feelings for an older boy, and on her plans to be a writer.

An owl, puppy, bear, bunny, and pig wait for marvelous things to happen.

Chrysanthemum loves her name, until she starts going to school and the other children make fun of it.

Seven year old Billy Miller starts second grade with a bump on his head and a lot of worries, but by the end of the year, he has developed good relationships with his teacher, his little sister, and his parents and learned many important lessons.

Four-year-old Sal cannot find a gift she recieved from Santa, her new baby sister still does not have a name and takes up all of Mama's attention, and her brother Billy is annoying, but Sal finds her own strengths over an eventful Christmas season with her family.

Sophie does not enjoy energetic, assertive Wendell's weekend visit until the very end, when she learns to assert herself and finds out Wendell can be fun to play with after all.

Penny comes home from school eager to share her very own song, but must wait until the time is right to teach it to her parents and the babies.

Lilly looks everywhere for the perfect hiding spot for her last chocolate heart, but it is almost bedtime on Valentine's Day and she decides that there is only one good hiding place for such a yummy treat

The week of her tenth birthday, Alice and her parents go to Sanibel Island, Florida, just as they do every year, but this time some of the people who are always there are missing and some new people have come. This unsettles Alice, who wants things to be exactly the same as they alway have been.