Baby Lincoln's older sister, Eugenia, is very fond of telling Baby what to do, and Baby usually responds by saying, "Yes, Sister." But one day, Baby has had enough. She decides to depart on a Necessary Journey, even though she has never gone anywhere without Eugenia telling her what to take with her and where to go. Can Baby find the courage to strike out on her own and discover who she really is? And will her impulsive adventure take her away from...

Abandoned by their father and living in poverty with their heartless stepmother in Louisiana, two sisters from the Philippines, twelve-year-old Sol and six-year-old Ming, learn the true meaning of family.

When Lizzie and Gael share an irresistible challenge, to find the peacock ring that once belonged to artist Frida Kahlo, Paloma decides it is the perfect way to honor her father.

Polly loves words, writing, and telling stories, so when she finds a fancy book on her doorstep labeled "Special Delivery from the Writing and Spelling Department for Polly Diamond" she is thrilled; and when she finds that anything she writes in it actually happens she is really excited--but Polly soon realizes that she has to be very careful what she writes because that kind of power can be dangerous.

Seventh-grader Zoey Albro focuses on caring for three younger siblings and avoiding rich classmates at school until her fascination with octopuses gets her on the debate team and she begins to speak out.

Four months ago Sara Zapata's best friend, Linda, disappeared from the streets of Juarez, and ever since Sara has been using her job as a reporter to draw attention to the girls who have been kidnapped by the criminals who control the city, but now she and her family are being threatened--meanwhile her younger brother, Emiliano, is being lured into the narcotics business by the promise of big money, and soon the only way for both of them to escape...

A teenaged girl and her boyfriend must find her older brother after he wanders into their town's swamp and a mysterious girl appears in his place.

"Nine-year-old Sumac Lottery considers it her job to make sure none of the Lottery celebrations are forgotten, especially now at Christmas time, and in her large, gay, and multiethnic family there are a lot of occasions for celebration in the house they all call Camelottery--but when a terrible ice storm hits Toronto, one of her dads, and her favorite brother cannot make it home from India, and it becomes increasingly difficult to hang on to the holiday...

Left in charge of her home and infant sibling when her parents are called away at Christmastime, Bettina disregards a family custom about leaving out rice pudding for the nisse, who make their magic known when the baby disappears. "Christmas has come, and with it a sparkling white winterfrost over the countryside. But twelve-year-old Bettina's parents have been called away unexpectedly, leaving her in charge of the house, the farm, and baby Pia....

Aurora County, Mississippi, is only the latest stop on the Cakes' nomadic lifestyle, opening bakeries wherever they go; but Emma Alabama Lane Cake (only girl of the six Cake children) is sick of it, and determined not to form any friendships here because they will just disappear as soon as the family moves again--but Aurora County has other ideas, and so does a girl named Ruby Lavender who plans to teach Emma a thing or two about friendship.