Through illness and health, in celebration and disappointment, families stick together. Some families are made up of many people, and some are much smaller. Sometimes family members look like each other, and sometimes they don't! But even though every family is different, the love is all the same.

Carrie Ballentyne's life was upended in 1845 when she had to leave the only home she'd ever known in the mountains of upstate New York. With her are her widowed mother and younger brother Nathan, but the separation from Bonner, Ballentyne, and Savard relatives weighs heavily. In time Carrie finds footing as a midwife and nurse, but she never feels at ease in the city. So when, a decade later, she receives an invitation from a doctor in Santa Fe to...

When their family prepares for a picnic, our little toddler tries to help. They want to do everything the grownups are doing, but the results are...not ideal. Mud, lemon juice, and water end up everywhere! But this little one isn't the only one making a mess-being "just like you" runs in the family!

Safa and her whole family celebrate the festival of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan with feasts and presents, and the sharing of these traditions with those in need.

When someone you love dies, you know what doesn't die? Love. On the hot beach, among colorful umbrellas blooming beneath a bright sun, no one saw a little girl walk into the water. Now, many months later, her bedroom remains empty, her drawers hold her clothes, her pillows and sheets still have her scent, and her mother and father, brothers and sister carry her in their hearts, along with their grief, which takes up so much space. Then one snowy day,...

Now married to Suzanne, Nick buys a suburban house to escape the rat race of the big city and to provide more space for his new wife and kids Lindsey and Kevin. But when his new home quickly becomes a costly "fixer upper," he finds himself at the mercy of an eccentric contractor, Nick's suburban dream soon becomes a nightmare.

Seventeen-year-old Aimee Roh has Sensory Time Warp Syndrome, a rare condition that causes her to time travel to a moment in her life when she smells something linked to that memory. Her dad is convinced she'll simply grow out of it if she tries hard enough, but Aimee's fear of vanishing at random has kept her from living a normal life. When Aimee disappears for nine hours into a memory of her estranged mom--a moment Aimee has never remembered before--she...

The Mulligans are used to a little bit of crazy. What do you do when the crazy all happens at the same time? Street-smart Hector has had a hard time fitting in at school - unless you count having regular fights with other boys as fitting in. Now he's got a few new friends . . . if he can prove that he belongs. But the troublemakers' recklessness may prove perilous to the creatures who live at the Mulligan Wild Animal Park. Can Hector learn to make...

Flying to Africa with Dad to help an orphaned baby elephant sounded exciting to Nick and Lisa, but their travel itinerary wasn't exactly clear on all the other challenges they would face. Sure, meeting new friends and seeing exotic animals is fun, but the African wild―especially at night―proves to be far more thrilling than they'd bargained for. It's almost enough to make a Mulligan want to stop being so independent and adventurous. (Almost!)...

In this collection the mice of Brambly Hedge have many adventures, but they always have time for fun and relaxation too. Whatever the season, and whether they are by the sea, in the High Hills, or simply at home by the fire, there is always someone ready to lend a helping hand.