While attending a strict academy for potential princesses with the other girls from her mountain village, fourteen-year-old Miri discovers unexpected talents and connections to her homeland.

Publisher Annotation: Dear Girl, is a remarkable love letter written for the special girl in your life. Through Amy and Paris?s charming text and Holly Hatam?s stunning illustrations, any girl reading this book will feel that she?s perfect?whether she enjoys jumping in a muddy puddle, has a face full of freckles, or dances on table tops. This book encourages girls to always be themselves and to love who they are?inside and out.

A boy describes his experiences learning karate, especially how it has increased his self-confidence.

"Wordy Birdy loves to talk, but will she ever learn to listen?"--

Harriet the hamster is desperate to be adopted, so she gives her sister Patricia and herself glamorous makeovers in hopes they will get more attention when Hamster World has its huge annual sale.

Recent immigrants from China and desperate for work and money, ten-year-old Mia Tang's parents take a job managing a rundown motel in Southern California, even though the owner, Mr. Yao is a nasty skinflint who exploits them; while her mother (who was an engineer in China) does the cleaning, Mia works the front desk and tries to cope with demanding customers and other recent immigrants--not to mention being only one of two Chinese in her fifth grade...

Publisher Annotation: One day, an egg rolled out of a nest and right into a deep pond. Now that egg is a little duck, and the water is still very scary. Jumping into the pond at all seems impossible, never mind swimming in a line with all his brothers. "You?re a duck, and ducks don?t sink," Big Frog points out. Practicing in a puddle helps a little, while backrubs and snacks from his mother help a little more. Big Frog offers to hold his friend?s...

Little Imani of the Maasai people longs to do something great, like touching the moon, but the other children just laugh at her.

Roly Poly, a pangolin, is shy and afraid of new things until he discovers that some new experiences are not bad at all.

"Black Belt Bunny is good at sidekicks, backflips, and air chops, but when told he must learn to make a salad, he resists, only to be unexpectedly empowered by himself and the narrator"--