Overview: Newbery Medal-winning author Beverly Cleary gives Henry's dog, Ribsy, the center stage in this dog's-eye view of the adventure of a lifetime. Good ol' Ribsy's ever-curious mind has always gotten him into scrapes, but this time he may have gone too far. After a comical turn of events, Ribsy finds himself in the wrong station wagon with the wrong children. Ribsy will do anything to find Henry, but there's plenty of excitement to be had along...

Encourages readers to accept and love themselves as they are and advises them to be confident, curious, adaptable, and willing to speak up.

In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, twelve-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses.

An act of tender compassion is given (and repaid) in secret during an icy winter night. "One snowy night, a fox loses its way, entering a village. Chased away by the grown ups, Fox takes shelter in a greenhouse. A little boy sees this from his window. Without hesitating, he brings a basket of food to the greenhouse, where he leaves it for the fox. His gift is noticed and the night becomes a garden of new life, nourished by compassion and kindness....

A supremely unlucky kid's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad first day at a new school. Only a bold or foolish narrator would start a book by calling out the upcoming story beats like Babe Ruth predicting a home run. But Justin Chase does just that, warning readers of the mortification to come. Now that his mom has married Vlad, his new stepdad, both of whom work the night shift, he'll be living with his dad during the week and spending weekends...

Robert wishes Stevie, a house guest, would go away but when he does Robert realizes how much fun they had together.

When flood waters submerge their New Orleans neighborhood in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a young cornet player and his parents evacuate their home and struggle to survive and stay together.