A young boy relates his adventures during the year he spends living alone in the Catskill Mountains including his struggle for survival, his dependence on nature, his animal friends, and his ultimate realization that he needs human companionship.

After having survived alone in the wilderness, Brian finds that he can no longer live in the city but must return to the place where he really belongs.

"Middle schooler Rafe Khachadorian faces his greatest challenge yet as he struggles to complete a week-long wilderness survival course to prove to his school administrators that he can succeed"-- Provided by publisher.

When a boy is not allowed to have a dog, he teaches his fish to do the things he wanted a dog to do.

Virgil feels out of place in his crazy-about-sports family. Valencia is deaf, smart, and loves everything about nature. Kaori is a self-proclaimed psychic, whose little sister, Gen, is always following her around. And Chet wishes the weird kids would just stop being so different so that he can concentrate on basketball. They aren't friends. But when Chet pulls a prank that traps Virgil and his pet guinea pig at the bottom of a well, Kaori, Gen, and...

All the many things a young child can do independently are demonstrated (tying shoes, riding bike, kicking ball), but there is one thing one cannot do alone.

The Little Engine that Could advises how to find one's own track, handle life's ups and downs, and even face the dark tunnels that can make one frightened or sad.

When her mother cannot find a babysitter for the weekend, thirteen-year-old Monica is left in charge of the house and her stepsister Angela, with disastrous results.

"Deep in the woods, in a rustic cabin, lives an old man and the boy he's raised as his own. This sage old man has taught the boy the power of nature and how to live in it, and more importantly, to respect it. In Fishbone's Song, this boy reminisces about the magic of the man who raised him and the tales that he used to tell--all true, but different each time"-- Provided by publisher.

Surrounded by her busy extended family and their many cars, fifteen-year-old Daisy pursues her goal of single-handedly restoring the car of her dreams, the old purple Volkswagen Beetle from her childhood.