Abandoned by their father and living in poverty with their heartless stepmother in Louisiana, two sisters from the Philippines, twelve-year-old Sol and six-year-old Ming, learn the true meaning of family.

Ramona's job is to be nice to fussy Mrs. Kemp, who watches her while her mother works.

Follows the adventures of Mr. and Mrs. Armitage and their children , Harriet, Mark, and little Milo, as they try to find innovative ways to cope with a variety of extraordinary events including stray unicorns in the garden, lessons in magic that go awry, and eviction from their house to make way for a young magicians' seminary.

When Amy and Dan learn the truth about the Madrigals and Grace Cahill's alternate will, these discoveries lead to the revelation of a secret about their family and a showdown with the man in black who has been following them.

Amy and Dan, wanted by the Indonesian police and stranded on an island with a tropical storm on the way, are about to discover a terrible truth about their branch of the Cahill family.

Laura and her family move to Minnesota where they live in a dugout until a new house is built and face misfortunes caused by flood, blizzard, and grasshoppers.

A troublesome twelve-year-old orphan, staying with an elderly artist who needs her, remembers the only other time she was happy in a foster home, with a family that truly seemed to care about her.

Fifteen-year-old Laura learns that living away from home and teaching school can be a bit frightening when most of the students are taller than she is, but every week Almonzo Wilder arrives to take her to her family for the weekend.

Cliff describes the excitement, conflict, and sudden tragedy experienced by his large and boisterous family during his eleventh year.