With a young brother in the hospital, a grandfather in jail, and their mother traveling with a rodeo, Maggie and Vern try to settle family problems.

Disasters befall the Blossom family as Pap falls into a dumpster and cannot get out, Junior tries desperately to make a success of his secret invention, and Vern dreads letting a new friend meet his unusual family.

What happened to the class hamster? Find out in this Edgar Award–winning mystery story with some “delightfully comic twists” (Kirkus Reviews).
When Junior brings home the classroom hamster, Scooty, he decides to build the best hamster tunnel ever. But when Scooty goes missing, all evidence points to Mud. Meanwhile, Mad Mary is missing, too—although her bag and walking stick were found near the highway. When...