Little Bill's parents expect him to dress up and act like a gentleman during their party, even though he would rather be playing soccer with his friends.
Although his brother's friends make fun of it, Little Bill is very proud of the toy boat he has built and very upset when it is wrecked the first time he puts it in the water.
When a new boy in his second grade class tries to get the other students to play a game that involves saying the meanest things possible to one another, Little Bill shows him a better way to make friends.
Although Little Bill is sad when a friend of the family dies, he remembers the friend's lesson of saying "Merry Christmas" to get people to stop fighting.