In his letters to his favorite author, ten-year-old Leigh reveals his problems in coping with his parents' divorce, being the new boy in school, and generally finding his own place in the world.

Using a mysterious wardrobe that allows them to travel through time, two eleven-year-olds, Federico a boy from the Italian Renaissance and Bee a girl from present-day New Jersey, work together to prevent the bickering between two great artists from changing the future.

Six stories relate the adventures of three best friends, who happen to be toys.

A poor woodcutter's children, lost in the forest, come upon a house made of bread, cakes, and candy, occupied by a wicked witch who likes to have children for dinner.

Chicken Little: When an acorn falls on her head, the chicken, Henny Penny, is convinced the sky is falling. The boy who cried wolf: A boy tending sheep on a lonely mountainside thinks it a fine joke to cry "wolf" and watch the people come running--and then one day a wolf is really there, but no one answers his call. The elves and the shoemaker: A poor shoemaker becomes successful with the help of two elves who finish his shoes during the night. Rapunzel:...