Jeff Lyons can't stand Ellen de Luca, the fat girl in his ceramics class. She's huge, clumsy, can't throw a pot to save her life, and stares at Jeff all the time. But he's a "nice guy" and feels terrible when Ellen overhears his hurtful remarks about her. The "crumbs of kindness" he tosses her way soon turn into advice on weight loss, college, clothes, hair . . . and, to everyone's surprise, good-looking Jeff actually dumps his pretty girlfriend to...

Inspired by her mother's optimistic outlook on life, Marilyn Regan Sachs has written a collection of vignettes about finding humor in the ever-changing times that swirled around her childhood, teenage, and adult years, including a short stint in the convent and a sixty-six-year marriage to her husband, Carl, affectionately called The Chameleon. Together, they raised four daughters and shared numerous adventures, many of which have ended up in the...

After a neighbor in her apartment building dies, ten-year-old Lily tries to find homes for his four ugly, noisy cats.

Ten-year-old Jessica loses her best friend, and in struggling to win her back finds out some important things about friendship.

Although she sucks her thumb, smells bad, and loses herself in the make-believe world of the three bears' dollhouse, ten-year-old Fran knows how to take care of her baby sister better than anybody else.

A twelve-year-old Jewish boy struggles to maintain his friendship with his tomboy classmate, Veronica, despite the opposition of their parents and the disapproval of his other friends.