A child spends a wonderful summer in the country, in a big old house with plenty of mice but no running water, and begs to stay there, but summer's end and a cross-country journey bring a wonderful surprise.

LB spends the summer dreading the first day of preschool, especially after his second-grade cousin makes him worry about what it will really be like.

Spending her final days of summer vacation enjoying beach trips, concerts, and sewing projects, Zoey works on a surprise for her brother's rock band while struggling with her friends' problems, missing fabric swatches, and a surprise visitor.

"A girl with ADHD loves to make people laugh, but when her acting out gets her stuck in summer school, she will have to try her hardest to turn over a new leaf"--

Mimi and her little brother Joe escape from home and the city's summer heat to read and dream about princesses and dinosaurs in the cool, quiet library.

"Vincent is staying with his aunt Mimi for the summer while his mom recuperates from surgery. Mimi's drab city neighborhood, complete with an empty dirt lot across the street, doesn't seem too promising. But then Vincent meets Toma, a boy who lives nearby, and things start looking up. Mimi has a mysterious box of 'dirt balls' in her apartment. When she asks Vincent to get rid of them, the fun Vincent and Toma have throwing them into the lot becomes...

"Gretchen turns to her vivid imagination when she is left behind while her siblings swim in the ocean"--

"I'm sick of being the one who's always scared of everything. This summer everything's going to change. By the end of camp, I'm going to take the jump in horseback riding, ask a boy to dance with me, and perform onstage in front of everyone. Now all I have to do is get up the nerve to make it happen!"--P. [4] of cover.

"The sky is blue. The air is warm. Flowers stretch up like they love the sunshine. Discover the wonder of summertime and learn what life is like for wildlife in the heat"--Back cover.