Illustrations and simple, rhyming text invite the reader to make everything from a tower to a charitable donation, alone or with neighbors.

Shortly before her thirteenth birthday, shy and withdrawn Tara is sent to stay with her aunt, uncle, and cousin in her parents' hometown of Willow Falls, where she makes friends and becomes involved with an elderly buyer and seller of collectibles, who seems to be trying to give Tara some kind of mysterious message.

"George 'Suds' Morton competes with his third-grade classmates to earn the first 'halo' of the year for good behavior, but being good turns out to be more stressful than he anticipated"--

Max, a naughty little boy, sent to bed without his supper, sails to the land of the wild things where he becomes their king.

From her upside-down house, the eccentric Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle issues to parents her marvelous cures for such common children's diseases as Won't-Put-Away-Toys-itis, Answerbackism, and Fighter-Quarrelitis.

The bad seed changes his mind about being bad and decides that he wants to be happy.

"As his school's centennial is coming up, Big Nate is stuck showing the dorky new kid around"--

"It's fun to be a Baby-sitters Little Sister. No fair! Karen is having a bad-luck day. Her favorite jeans are missing. There's no prize in the Crunch-O cereal box. And Boo-Boo the cat runs away from her! Karen tries everything to make her day better. But her bad luck just won't go away. She even gets punished and sent to her room! Poor Karen--will this be her worst day ever?" --

"Toddler Oliver says "no" to everything-from brushing his teeth and cleaning to swinging on the swings-until his cousin Jess comes to visit and Oliver discovers all that is possible when you say "yes.""--

When Geppetto carves himself a son from an enchanted piece of wood, the mischievous Pinocchio is born and a fantastical story begins. Along the way, Pinocchio is swindled by a fox and a cat, saved by a fairy, turned into a donkey and swallowed by a shark, all before he learns what it truly takes to become a real boy.