Thirteen-year-old fraternal twins Dallas and Florida have grown up in a terrible orphanage but their lives change forever when an eccentric but sweet older couple invites them each on an adventure, beginning in an almost magical place called Ruby Holler.

"When Louisiana Elefante's granny wakes her up in the middle of the night to tell her that the day of reckoning has arrived and they have to leave home immediately, Louisiana isn't overly worried. After all, Granny has many middle-of-the-night ideas. But this time, things are different. This time, Granny intends for them never to return. Separated from her best friends, Raymie and Beverly, Louisiana struggles to oppose the winds of fate (and Granny)...

Recent immigrants from China and desperate for work and money, ten-year-old Mia Tang's parents take a job managing a rundown motel in Southern California, even though the owner, Mr. Yao is a nasty skinflint who exploits them; while her mother (who was an engineer in China) does the cleaning, Mia works the front desk and tries to cope with demanding customers and other recent immigrants--not to mention being only one of two Chinese in her fifth grade...

Laura and her family move to Minnesota where they live in a dugout until a new house is built and face misfortunes caused by flood, blizzard, and grasshoppers.

A young disabled girl and her brother are evacuated from London to the English countryside during World War II, where they find life to be much sweeter away from their abusive mother. "Nine-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada's twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn't waste a minute--she sneaks out to join him. So begins...

When Ruby's grandmother, Miss Eula goes to visit a new grandchild in Hawaii, nine-year-old Ruby is sure that she will have a lonely and boring summer in Halleluia, Mississippi. After all, what other granddaughter-grandmother duo would drive the getaway car for chickens rescued from the slaughterhouse, or paint a whole house shellshock pink? Instead, Ruby makes a new friend, saves the school play, writes plenty of letters to her favorite (and only)...

"Greg struggles to stay on Santa's 'nice' list while snowed in with the rest of the Heffley family in the days leading up to Christmas"--

Each of five children lucky enough to discover an entry ticket into Mr. Willy Wonka's mysterious chocolate factory takes advantage of the situation in his own way.

Ten-year-old Zoe Elias, who longs to play the piano but must resign herself to learning the organ instead, finds that her musicianship has a positive impact on her workaholic mother, her jittery father, and her school social life.

"Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden are orphans looking for a place to live together as a family. Could a boxcar in the woods be their new home?"-- Provided by publisher.