Although he knows just about everything about spiders, Spider Storch is a terrible runner, and he is afraid he will ruin the Third Grade Olympics for his teammates.
When his third-grade teacher sends him back to the bus for having caused trouble while on a school field trip, Spider makes an amazing discovery about the driver.
When Jess thinks she is losing her friend Molly to the new girl in their second-grade class, she gets interested in Natalie Spitzer and her pet turtles.
Daphne didn't mind being the tallest girl in her class until third grade, when a classmate begins teasing her about her height and she must decide whether to retaliate.
Third grader Spider Storch tries to keep his friends from finding out that he has to be the ring bearer in a wedding where the horrible Mary Grace Brennerman will be the flower girl.
A beauty contestant since she was three, Olivia, now thirteen, has begun feeling limited by her beauty but a shared journey with Danny, a boy struggling with his own appearance, show her she has choices and resources beyond her appearance.
Eleven-year-old Arlie is troubled by the sudden arrival of a new girl in school with an uncanny resemblance to Arlie's mother, a woman who rarely praises her.
California seventh-graders Sarah and Marjorie made a promise in kindergarten to always be friends, but Marjorie is weird and Sarah, wanting to be at least somewhat popular, makes friends with a fellow choir member.
