The Alden children travel on a Mississippi paddle-wheel steamer to visit an old family friend in his cabin near Hannibal, Missouri, and try to discover who is responsible for the mysterious activities near the house.

"They say that a ghost witch lives in the woods, up on Brewster's Hill. They say her companion, Bloody Bones, has a pig skull for a face and stands taller than a man, his skeleton gleaming white in the moonlight. They say that the witch takes young girls, and no one ever sees them again. Daniel doesn't believe the stories about the witch or her beast. He figures the kids on the bus are just trying to scare him, since he's new. But when his sister,...

While Little Girl is away on winter vacation, her toys, Lumphy, StingRay, and Plastic, decide to go outside and learn more about snow.

Fly Guy visits the school cafeteria and gets the lunch lady fired.

On a family vacation, a young girl shows bravery by trying new experiences, including surfing, horseback riding, and hiking.

"Twice a day when the tide goes out, an astonishing world is revealed in the tide pools that form along the Pacific Coast. Some of the creatures that live here look like stone. Others look like plants. Some move so slowly it's hard to tell if they're moving at all, while others are so fast you're not sure you really saw them. The biggest animals in the pool are smaller than your hand, while the smallest can't be seen at all without a microscope. ...

As a young Tlingit girl collects wild berries over the seasons, she sings with her Grandmother as she learns to speak to the land and listen when the land speaks back.

The very hungry caterpillar displays its love for the reader as the cherry on a cake, the apple of an eye, and the bee's knees.

"After his fight with Randy Betancourt makes headlines in the school paper, Big Nate has a problem worse than detention on his hands."--Provided by publisher.

When the Twin Towers fall on September 11, 2001, blocks from her school, twelve-year-old Molly, unable to reach her dads or Gran, must find her seven-year-old sister, Adi, and get her safely home. Includes author's note, glossary, and discussion questions.