When his owner's parents let him go in Central Park, a young guinea pig learns to survive in the natural world with the help of a "park-wise" squirrel while trying to find his way back home.

Ezra Feldman, almost ten, likes baseball more than anything else in the world. But his father cannot understand why his son would rather rot his brains watching men swinging big wooden sticks than read a book or play chess. Can an unwanted car trip, a grumpy old professor, and a surprising chess victory help father and son find a little common ground--and convince Ezra's dad that cheering for the national pastime isn't completely off base?

A year after her father has left home for good, fifth-grader DeDe helps her mother cope with the realities of life after divorce.

Relates the adventures of an inquisitive little girl who lives in a large apartment building in New York with her parents and little brother Teddy.

Because Adam hopes that the "big surprise" awaiting him at home has two wheels and pedals, he is unprepared for the unusual addition to his Vermont family.

Thirteen-year-old Karen Sossi encounters bad luck when she ignores her schoolwork for cooking and baby-sitting.

Peanut and Butter, the two dogs Aldo gets for his eleventh birthday, create chaos inside the house while his parents are out of town and get accused of tearing up the neighbor's lawn.

Julio hides his own leadership ambitions to help another candidate win the nomination for class president.