Penny feels guilty after taking a beautiful blue marble that she sees in Mrs. Goodwin's grass, but gets a pleasant surprise when she goes to return it the next day.

Three little birds crack their way out of eggs and fly away, leaving one egg sitting all alone until the three chicks come back and discover a friendly baby alligator has finally hatched.

When can waiting for a party be both a trick and a treat? Just ask Julius!

On a summer visit to her grandmother's cottage by the ocean, twelve-year-old Martha gains perspective on the death of a classmate, on her relationship with her grandmother, on her feelings for an older boy, and on her plans to be a writer.

Lilly loves everything about school, especially her teacher, but when he asks her to wait a while before showing her new purse; she does something for which she is very sorry later. Lilly has a brand new purple plastic purse that makes music when you open it, a glittery new pair of sunglasses, and three shiny quarters. Anxious to show her new possessions to her favorite teacher and her classmates, she disrupts Mr. Slinger's class and he gets angry....

In the middle of fall, it takes only one gust of wind to turn the whole world yellow and red and orange.

When Old Bear falls asleep for the winter, he has a dream that he is a cub again, enjoying each of the four seasons.