Central Kansas Library System

In this tongue-in-cheek take on classic themes in children's literature, the four Willoughby children set about to become "deserving orphans" after their neglectful parents embark on a treacherous around-the-world adventure, leaving them in the care of an odious nanny.

Twelve-year-old Anastasia is horrified at her family's decision to move from their city apartment to a house in the suburbs.

Meg isn't thrilled when she gets stuck sharing a bedroom with her sister. Then, suddenly, Molly is rushed to the hospital and their lives change forever. Can Meg show her sister how she really feels?

Lame and suddenly orphaned, Kira is mysteriously removed from her squalid village to live in the palatial Council Edifice, where she is expected to use her gifts as a weaver to do the bidding of the all-powerful Guardians.

Mysterious things begin to happen after Uncle Claude comes to stay with his sister's family. Is Uncle Claude a thief, an imposter, or just a dream weaver?

Unlike the other Birthmothers in her utopian community, teenaged Claire forms an attachment to her baby, feeling a great loss when he is taken to the Nurturing Center to be adopted by a family unit.

Seemingly a girl who has everything, Natalie, at seventeen, goes in pursuit of her real mother.

"Spontaneous, natural, and humorous." -The Bulletin J.P. is in love, and it's making him do all sorts of weird things. Like using deodorant, bumping into walls, and imagining he hears serenading violins. J.P. has even forgotten his obsession with chess, too caught up in pondering the beauty of Angela Patricia Galsworthy, a girl who has just moved to town from London and has the most charming British accent. J.P. will do anything to impress Angela,...

Caroline and J.P.'s father has asked them to come visit him and his new wife in Des Moines, Iowa. They don't really want to go, but they also don't have a say in the matter. Upon arriving, they discover they each have unexpected and unpleasant responsibilities. Caroline has to babysit their baby twin sisters and J.P. is forced to coach baseball to a bunch of six-year-olds. The two decide to call a truce in their continual sibling warfare and help...

Forced to spend a summer with their father and his "new" family, Caroline, age eleven, and J.P., age thirteen, are given unpleasant responsibilities for which they are determined to get revenge.