Nancy is determined to make the cover of her very first book report as fancy as she can, but she spends so much time on it that she has no time to write about the book.

Planning to make her father's famous raspberry torte for a back-to-school project, Willa is dismayed when her plans are upended by a poor raspberry crop, forcing her to scramble for an alternate idea.

Hank must work on a huge homework packet during a family trip to North Carolina or he will spend the day with his father at a crossword puzzle tournament rather than riding roller coasters with his mother, sister, and friend Frankie.

Between snowstorms, visiting relatives, and chocolate raisins, everything's piling up around Tom Gates in his sixth doodle-packed diary. Tom's hoping to be made a Star Pupil at school, but that means he needs to put more effort into his homework than his doodles. Easier said than done! Meanwhile, his grandparents (the Fossils) are about to celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary, and Uncle Kevin wants to plan something special. Then the cold...

Marley learns that no matter how tasty, he should not eat Cassie's homework, and wonders how to make it up to her.