Fourteen-year-old Manjiro is a fisherman from a family of fishermen. In nineteenth-century Japan, that is all he can aspire to be. But this truth does not stop him from dreaming about being a samurai: a member of the noble knightly class.
One day, while Manjiro is on a fishing expedition with three companions, the weather turns foul. After the tempest sinks their boat, the fishermen swim to a small, uninhabited island. An American whaling vessel rescues the foursome, and the captain, William Whitfield, offers to take them home with him. Manjiro’s friends, thinking, like all Japanese, that Americans are barbarians, refuse. The teen, however, knowing that it is forbidden for any Japanese citizen to return home once he has left his homeland, accepts the captain’s offer.
So begins Manjiro’s ten-year odyssey. Adopted by Captain Whitfield, the young man learns English, becomes a skilled whaler and sailor, and becomes the first known Japanese person to set foot in America. Manjiro is determined to be successful in his new home, battling prejudice and misunderstanding even as he dreams of returning to Japan and his family some day. And by dint of hard work and remaining true to his goal, Manjiro realizes not only this dream but an earlier, impossible one, as well.
Dallas and Florida are twins. As far back as they can remember, the thirteen-year-olds have been residents of the Boxton Creek Home for Children (except for a few unfortunate experiences when they briefly lived in foster homes that were the stuff of nightmares.) Living under the doubtful care of the Trepids–who have labeled the siblings the Trouble Twins–is no picnic. As time passes, their dream of having a real, loving home is fading fast.
Yonatan is eleven years old; old enough, in his opinion, for his parents to stop calling him Yoni and to be treated with more respect. But there are bigger concerns facing Yonatan, his family, and the entire city of Jerusalem. Sancheriv, the evil king of Ashur, is determined to conquer the Jews’ homeland and lay siege to the city. With its siege machines and strong fighting force, the enemy will soon be poised to attack.
“Feeling things. That’s one of the gifts I got from my mother, being able to feel things that other people don’t. Spooky, isn’t it? That’s how most other kids see it. And me. Spooky Armie. Ever since I was really little…I’ve been teased because I was weird. It wasn’t just because I looked different, with my thick black hair and my brown skin. It was also because I said things that other kids thought was strange.”
Some twenty years have passed since Phileas Fogg made his historic journey around the globe (and his exploits were recorded by Jules Verne in Around the World in 80 Days). Since that time, he and the Indian lady he married have raised a son. Now young Harry, believing that motorcars are the way of the future, wagers that he can drive his vehicle–the Flash–around the globe in 100 days. His father agrees to make good on the bet on one condition: if Harry loses, he must give up his preoccupation with motorcars and engage in a profession more suitable for a gentleman. And so the younger Fogg, along with his loyal and talented mechanic, a stodgy observer to ensure that the rules are kept, and a lady journalist covering the story for her newspaper, departs from the same club that marked the beginning of his father’s venture. 
What can a boy do to keep himself busy when his mother goes to the store and leaves him alone in the house shortly before his birthday on the third night of Chanukah? Make a huge latke, that’s what! So Matisyohu Dov Ber Chaim Tzvi peels potatoes galore, adds all the necessary ingredients, but then the mixer stops working! That is no problem–the young chef sees a solution right outside his window in the form of a cement mixer. This is only the beginning of the adventure: with a little help from some unlikely places, Matisyohu Dov Ber Chaim Tzvi ends up with the biggest latke anyone has ever seen, and a fantastic story to tell. “So I wrote all that happened for you to read, too/ If you want to believe it – well, that’s up to you!”
Leibush and his friends spend their days in school, learning from morning to evening–except on Wednesdays, when they are dismissed early. It is on such a day in late summer when, cooling off by the river, Leibush learns that Shnook has arrived in Korovenko. The peddler, who is so simple that nobody calls him by his real name of Shimon, is always entertaining, so Leibush rushes home. To his delight, Shnook is there, and has spread out his goods on the table. Although his mother would love the beautiful blue cloth, she has only one ruble to spend, and settles for a few necessary items–which the peddler, as always, tells her cost one ruble.
When Lidie was seven, her mother passed away. Shortly afterwards, her father and older brother Rafael left Brazil for the United States. Since that time, she has lived with an aunt and uncle.
Ben Tomlin is an only child. For twelve years, he and his parents have lived in Toronto. But, suddenly, the family moves across Canada to Victoria, Alberta. So Ben wakes up on his thirteenth birthday in his new home, awaiting his mother’s arrival with the new baby.
