The eleven-year-old Brewster triplets, Dawn, Darby, and Delaney, are afraid this is going to be the worst Christmas ever--they have been cast as angels in their local Christmas pageant just because they are girls, their mother, older sister, and aunt are stuck in Boston because of the snow, someone is stealing outdoor Christmas decorations and baked goods, and their father is just too busy for Christmas.

Growing up with six brothers in rural Texas in 1899, 12-year-old Callie realizes that her aversion to needlework and cooking disappoints her mother. She prefers to study the natural world with her grandfather, which leads to an important discovery.

Twelve-year-old Teddy investigates when a popular Texas zoo's star attraction--Henry the hippopotamus--is murdered.

"Dacey Culpepper Biel would do anything to save her family's shop, Pies N' Prattle, even spend time with her archrival, Chayton Freedel, whose father hosts a local show that will feature the shop." --

Danny Owens is dedicating his seventh-grade football season to his recently-deceased father, an NFL legend, but the pressure to succeed is magnified by his inability to read.

"It's 1900, and Charlie feels lucky to live in Galveston, Texas. Sure, there are storms sometimes. But nobody worries about hurricanes. Even a famous weather expert says it's impossible for a strong hurricane to strike Galveston. Which is why few people worry on the morning of September 8, when a big storm starts to brew. but Charlie watches with growing horror as monster waves rise up from the sea, as the wind starts to scream. by night, much of...

Eleven-year-old injured soccer player Luz has a hard enough time reframing her identity as a computer programmer, but when her Guatemalan half-sister moves in, she learns what it truly means to start over. Includes author's note.

Eleven-year-old Maximilian, a big fan of the form of wrestling known as lucha libre, begins to suspect that he has a close connection with his favorite luchador, El Angel de La Guardia, the Guardian Angel.

Instead of being rescued from a plane crash, as in the author's book Hatchet, this story portrays what would have happened to Brian had he been forced to survive a winter in the wilderness with only his survival pack and hatchet.

Callie and Travis need sheep for the town Christmas pageant. Travis is playing the shepherd in the Nativity scene, and what's a shepherd without his flock? Unfortunately, Fentress is low on sheep--but not on goats. When Callie and Travis decide to borrow two goats from their neighbor, they don't know what they're in for. As it turns out, the main trouble with goats is that they'll eat just about anything. This will be one Christmas pageant Fentress...