Cari Best

Violet, who is very shy and hates for anyone to look at her in school, finally comes out of her shell when she is cast as Lady Space in a play about the solar system and saves the production from disaster.

A five-year-old girl who is brave and strong faces night noises, too much light, and spooky shadows, all without calling her parents, before finally feeling sleepy.

Beatrice enjoys learning to spell, and gets really excited about it after some encouragement from her grandmother, but she has trouble convincing her classmates that spelling is not boring.

Sara, her Russian-American grandmother, her mother, and some neighbors try to drive to the beach on a very hot day.

After taking the train downtown, Lizzie spends the day at the public library, helping her mother, who is a children's librarian.

Benny the parrot, an amazing bird with the ability to read, has everything a bird could want, until he has to share his owner's attention with a rare flower.

Tina spends each Sunday with her father, a taxicab driver.

In 1961, shy and overprotected eleven-year-old Shirley Alice Burns must begin speaking up if she is to do what she wants, including talking about her beloved, deceased father.

In the spring when trees unfreeze and grass grows green and pansies say, "Please plant me!" Nell and her dog, Rusty, can't wait to dig in dirt just right for digging. But Norman, their neighbor, says "Ewww!" to digging and dirt.

Wendy enjoys walking with her family on Rambling Road and always finds something to add to her collection.