Little Red Chicken wants Papa to read her a bedtime story, but interrupts him almost as soon as he begins each tale.

In this tongue-in-cheek take on classic themes in children's literature, the four Willoughby children set about to become "deserving orphans" after their neglectful parents embark on a treacherous around-the-world adventure, leaving them in the care of an odious nanny.

Principal Wagner confidently deals with a faculty washroom crisis, a psychic parrot, and a terrorizing gerbil, but when sixty-five erasers go missing, he enlists the help of the school's best problem solver and locator of lost items, twelve-year-old Lyle Williams, aka Mudshark.

His name is Failure. Timmy Failure. And his detective agency is on the verge of global domination. Global riches. Global fame. And yet the gods keep throwing him curveballs for starters, academic probation. The coveted Miracle Report is the key to everything, including a good grade. It's dirty business. It's best you know nothing. But one thing is for sure that Timmy Failure will be triumphant again!

A class visit to the Gross-Me-Out exhibit at the science museum inspires Stink Moody to create a variety of terrible smells to put on the sneakers he plans to enter in the World's Worst Super-Stinky Sneaker contest.

Preparing for the arrival of an important visitor, a wacky housekeeper follows her employer's instructions with humorous results.

Two readers compare a print to digital media, and learn books are still valuable.

Greg Heffley and his family escape to a tropical island resort for some much-needed rest and relaxation, but sun poisoning, stomach troubles, and venomous creatures all threaten their vacation.

Jake and his family have moved to a new state and now Jake must start at the bottom of the social ladder, but he is determined to make friends and get back on top with his box of "kid cards."

While picking up milk for his children's cereal, a father is abducted by aliens and finds himself on a wild adventure through time and space.