A young boy is depicted doing a variety of naughty things for which he is repeatedly admonished, but finally he gets a hug.

From her upside-down house, the eccentric Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle issues to parents her marvelous cures for such common children's diseases as Won't-Put-Away-Toys-itis, Answerbackism, and Fighter-Quarrelitis.

Ethan Allen Hawley, the protagonist of the novel, works as a clerk in a grocery store that his family once owned. With the decline in their status, his wife is restless, and his teenage children are hungry for the tantalizing material comforts he cannot provide. Then one day, in a moment of moral crisis, Ethan decides to take a holiday from his own scrupulous standards.

After George starts doing everything upside down, his parents and teacher do the same and so he must think of something new.

A katydid named Katy, who upsets other insects as she bounces through the garden, saves the day for a colony of ants.

A little girl gets mad at a lot of things in her daily life but is comforted that her mother understands her anger.

While thinking about life as a race, a child wonders whether it is most important to finish first or to have fun along the way.

After promising never to lie, Libby learns that it's not always necessary to blurt out the whole truth either.

Most marshmallows like to watch television and lead normal lives--but some marshmallows dream of greater things.